Benfica U20 ready for Intercontinental Cup

Benfica's U20 squad will travel to Uruguay to face off against Penarol in the first inaugural Intercontinental Cup for the youth league Champions of both UEFA and CONMEBOL. Benfica and Penarol will play their encounter in Montevideo's Estadio Centenario on August 21st in a ninety minute affair that would go to penalties if the game is level after regulation time.

Benfica's 2022 UEFA Youth League Champions will be without striker Henrique Araujo who scored a hat trick in the clubs 6-0 final victory in April as he is now part of the main squad but winger Diego Moreira has been given the green light to join the U20 squad on their trip. Benfica will have a familiar squad that impressed in their victory over Salzburg.

Benfica linked with Roma winger Kluivert

Benfica's move for winger Ricardo Horta continues to stall due to a breakdown in negotiations between Braga and Malaga who both own a percentage of the players playing rights. Benfica though are not taking any chances and are looking to alternative options with the transfer window just weeks away from closing until January.

One name that has popped up over the past few days is Roma winger Justin Kluivert, who's main position is no different then Horta's but he would come with a much bigger annual salary, just shy of €4M per season. The 23 year old has spent the past two seasons on loan already with RB Leipzig and Nice and does not look to be in Roma manager Jose Mourinho's plans once again.

Kluivert the son of former Dutch international Patrick appeared in 31 games across all competitions for Nice last season, scoring six goals while setting up another six. Benfica would prefer to close the Horta move after already agreeing on a five year contract with the player but need to keep their options open in case the deal falls through and Kluivert is on the agenda.

Benfica deals stalling over money

Benfica are still hoping to land a couple of players before the transfer window closes in a few weeks and two of the players most linked with the club for some time now are Braga winger Ricardo Horta and Feyenoord defensive midfielder Fredrik Aursnes but both of these acquisitions seem stalled now due to money demands by their respective clubs.

Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has recently stated that Aursnes will not be leaving the club after a breakdown in negotiations as the Dutch side are now demanding €15M for the Norwegian's services up from the earlier reported €10M, while the Horta situation is more complicated as Malaga still own 66% of the players playing rights and are currently in discussions with Braga over selling price.

Horta is said to have already agreed to terms with Benfica and the Lisbon side has tabled a €15M offer along with the playing rights of Gil Dias and a loan of striker Rodrigo Pinho. In other news Benfica have loaned midfielder Gabriel to Botafogo for a year with an option to extend the loan until the end of 2023.