Helton Leite looks set to open the season at keeper

Benfica keeper Helton Leite looks to have wrestled the number one keeper job away once again from last seasons starter Odysseas Vlachodimos in a battle that continues to take place between the two keepers since Helton's arrival at Benfica from Boavista in the summer of 2020. Helton looks set to open the season at the clubs number when it kicks off in two weeks time.

Helton claimed the number one keeper job during the half way mark of the 2020/21 season before relinquishing that role back last season to Vlachodimos. This summer has seen the arrival of new manager Roger Schmidt who has reinstated the 31 year old Brazilian netminder back to the role he once held.

Helton's role as the clubs number one keeper could be short lived with Benfica linked to a host of keepers during the summer months, the latest being Eintracht Frankfurt's number one man Kevin Trapp. Benfica have also been linked with Trabzonspor keeper Ugurcan Cakir and Arsenal's Bernd Leno. 

Look for Benfica to complete a few moves at the position before the transfer window closes this summer, the first of which should see a new number one arrive at the Luz and the second move should see the departure of their Greek keeper Vlachodimos.

Benfica looking at Feyenoord midfielder

Benfica look ready to continue with an overhaul of last seasons disappointing side and are currently linked with Feyenoord defensive midfielder Fredrik Aursnes. The 26 year old Norwegian only joined the Dutch club last summer but left an impression with current Benfica bench boss Roger Schmidt from his time in the Eredivisie last season.

Aursnes was a key piece of Feyenoord's run to the Europa Conference League Final during the last campaign and appeared in 47 games across all competitions, scoring once while setting up four goals. Feyenoord are rumoured to be looking for around €12M to €15M for the players services, which would be a hefty profit from the €500K they paid Molde.

The acquisition of Aursnes at that price tag would more then likely mean the departure of Julian Weigl who has already been linked with various clubs in the Bundesliga this summer.

Benfica set to open up the Portuguese League season

The Portuguese League has announced the opening week schedule for the 2022/23 season and Benfica will kick off the first game of the new campaign at the Estadio da Luz against Arouca on August 5th. Benfica will then open up the Week 2 schedule the following week on August 12th when they travel away to take on league newcomers Casa Pia.

Benfica's upcoming Champions League qualifying schedule is the reason that the club will play their first two games of the season on back to back Fridays, disappointing many of their North American fan base who may be stuck at work and unable to catch the action of the season start. Benfica are set to face the winners of Midtjylland or AEK Larnaca in the third qualifying round phase for a spot in this seasons Champions League group stage.