Benfica are once again linked to Famalicao's defensive midfielder Goncalo Assuncao, as they look to strengthen their defensive play in the back end. Some may be wondering why the club is looking at a position that they had someone in place to play the role before loaning him out, in Florentino Luis but current club manager Jorge Jesus is not only looking for a defensive midfielder but one that can form one half of a midfield pair in which he felt Florentino was not capable of doing. Assuncao has also been linked with FC Porto and French side Nice and is the son of former FC Porto midfielder Paulo Assuncao and has a contract with Famalicao until the summer of 2025. Assuncao also has a €50M buy out clause that will make any negotiation difficult for any of the interested parties but Jesus has asked club President Vieira to make Assuncao a priority come January.
Benfica have been dealt a possible blow to their League and UEFA campaigns as both striker Darwin Nunez and midfielder Julian Weigl have tested positive for COVID-19 the club announced today. Nunez has spent the last two weeks with the Uruguayan national team where there was an outbreak of COVID-19 that effected players and staff, Nunez more then likely caught the virus from this outbreak. While Weigl remained in Lisbon during the international break and it is unknown how Weigl may have caught the virus. The two players will now be out of action indefinitely until they return a negative test for COVID-19.
Benfica are linked to what some in the football world are calling the new Cristiano Ronaldo and that is Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai who currently applies his trade with Austrian side RB Salzburg. According to 90 minutes, Benfica are on the long list of clubs that includes Bayern Munich, PSG and Real Madrid who are looking to make a move for the Hungarian International. The 20 year old has been a member of Salzburg since January 2018 and has appeared in 74 games across all competitions for the Austrian club, scoring 22 goals while adding 33 helpers. Szoboszlai's play this season in the Champions League is one of the main reasons he has caught the attention of some of Europe's bigger clubs with Salzburg looking for a minimum €25M to start discussions on Szoboszlai's departure.
