French club interested in left back Jurasek

Benfica are said to be shopping left back David Jurasek for a potential loan move this winter to French side Marseille who is said to be interested in stepping to the plate to take a swing on the 23 year old Czech footballer.

Benfica acquired Jurasek this past summer from Slavia Prague in hopes he could fill the boots of departing left back Alex Grimaldo, but Jurasek has not been able to get his game to the level expected by the club and is now is being shopped around as Benfica turn their attention to Manchester United left back Alvaro Fernandez, who is currently on loan at Granada.

Jurasek has appeared in just 12 games since arriving at Benfica for a total of 480 minutes and has provided little in the club's attack, while Grimaldo is thriving at Leverkusen, scoring nine goals while providing seven helpers.

 

Benfica make informal contact with Santos striker

Benfica have reached out to 20 year old Santos striker Marcos Leonardo according to reports out of Brazil's Globo Esporte. Santos was recently relegated from the top division in Brazil and will be heading to Serie B for the first time in their history and should see an exodus of its top players over the winter window.

Leonardo's player rights belong to both Santos and Sao Paulo and it is said that the club is looking for between €15M to €20M for the players services. Leonardo scored 21 goals in 2023 across 49 games while providing four helpers. Benfica would need to move out one of its strikers if it were to make this move with Arthur Cabral the likely candidate.

Real Madrid, Arsenal and Newcastle are said to have also inquired about the player.

Rafa Silva now free to sign with any club

When the clock struck midnight, it officially made Rafa Silva a free agent able to negotiate a new contract with any club, with his contract at Benfica coming to an end at the conclusion of the season.

Benfica and Rafa seem far apart on a new contract, as the forward's asking price is out of the range of what the club is open to paying. The 30 year old currently earns €2.5M per season at Benfica and the club seems to have accepted that they will part ways with the player when the season ends.

Rafa turned down an offer during the summer from Qatari side Al-Sadd, which would have paid him a reported €7.5M per season but many feel that the Middle East could be the forward's future destination as clubs there continue to splash high salaries on foreign arrivals.

Rafa has been with Benfica since arriving in the summer of 2016 from Braga and has appeared in 300 games across all competitions for the Lisbon side. Rafa in his time at the club, has scored 81 goals, while setting up an additional 72. Rafa's Instagram account also no longer references Benfica a sign of things to come?