Félix and Fernandes on the move?
As the summer opens and the football draws to a close, footballers take holidays and begin to relax. However, the intense work behind the scenes at a football club is perpetual. We take a closer look at the rigorous preparations Sporting CP and SL Benfica are making ahead of the 2019/20 Liga NOS campaign.
We will start with SL Benfica, fresh off the back of their 37th Primeira Liga title and a good run in the Europa League which saw them reach the quarter-finals. The main objectives for Benfica next season will be to retain the title and also perform better than they have in recent years in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Fans who believe they will do so can bet at sbobet88 and earn some money if they are proved right. For this to be possible, their business in this window has to be smart, and retaining the core of this young and energetic side is vital.
Confirmed business so far
So far, Benfica have been really efficient with their business in regard to contract extensions. Rafa Silva, the mercurial man off the back of a fantastic season ended any transfer speculation regarding his future by putting pen to paper on a new deal until 2024. Rafa has emerged as a key figure at Benfica and at 26 he has the right balance between experience and youth and is a player who is coming into his prime.
Andreas Samaris has also recently extended his contract until 2023, another smart extension. At 30 his experience is invaluable and is still a great asset to the side both on the field and in the dressing room.
Jhonder Cadiz joins Benfica on 1 July from Vitória Setúbal in a deal worth around 3 million euros. The 23-year-old Venezuelan hitman grabbed 10 goals and 2 assists, great stats for a player at a side who finished 4 points above the relegation zone. Another forward player in Caio Lucas was confirmed by Benfica back in March on a deal that sees him at the club until 2024. The 25-year-old Brazilian, who plays predominantly on the left, scored 6 goals and assisted 8 for Al-Ain this season.
The rumour mill
All the major news outlets in Portugal claim that Benfica’s main target is Raúl de Tomas and at the time of writing, OJOGO have claimed, as recent as 2 hours ago, that the deal is nearly complete, for a fee of around 20/25 million Euros.
The Real Madrid man who spent last season at Rayo Vallecano is coming off the back of a fantastic season scoring 14 in 33 games and contributing 1 assist. At 24 he is still young but has proven he can score in a top league like La Liga. At Benfica, playing with higher quality team-mates than at Vallecano may see De Tomas move up another gear yet again. The stiffest competition Benfica face is from his parent club Real Madrid, but with the spending they are doing so far in the window, it is unlikely De Tomas would be given much of a chance if he did stay.
Reports in Italy suggest that Benfica have joined rivals FC Porto in the race for Andrea Pinamonti. The Italy U20 star scored five goals on loan at Frosinone from his parent club Inter during the 2018-19 season. Reports suggest that it would be an initial loan to Benfica with an option to buy. The rumours so far, credible and not so credible, have one common theme, they all centre around the ‘replacing of João Félix’.
João Félix: “shall I stay or shall I go?”
Whilst Benfica are not in a position where they will be ransacked by top clubs in Europe just yet, due to the age and relative inexperience of their youthfully exuberant squad, there is one player who is commanding all the headlines at the moment and it is wonderkid João Félix. Every other day it seems there is a new club in for him, a new price touted and a new string of drawn out negotiations. Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid are just some of the teams linked with him, and it is difficult to envision how this one is going to play out.
The move in Félix’s best interest would be to remain in Lisbon, playing regularly in a system he is used to with top quality players and gaining valuable experience in the Champions League competing against the very best. The latest rumour from the mill suggests that it is Real Madrid who are closest to João Félix, but with a release clause of around €120 million, Benfica are in a strong position where they feel confident whatever the outcome may be. It is a staggering amount of money for any teenage player and if a club steps up and pays it, Benfica’s finances will be in a much healthier state than for years. According to president Luís Filipe Vieira, if Benfica don’t receive an astronomical offer matching his release clause, Félix remains a Benfica player; it’s really that simple.
In terms of outgoings, Ljubomir Fejsa’s deal to Fenerbahçe is all but done according to the Turkish press, with a fee of about 3 million euros. Other than that, there has been no business that will hurt Benfica yet or reduce their quality from last year, all three of Raúl Jiménez, Luka Jovic and Sebastian Corchia spent last season away from Benfica at loan clubs therefore their departure will not be greatly felt, and will in actually help to bolster the coffers, making it easier to hold on to their stars of 2018-19.
Overall, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of weeks and months for Benfica. They have a great young coach and a great squad who will be a year older and wiser. Apparently in a great place – especially considering far greater uncertainty surrounding the squad of title rivals FC Porto – the key for the Lisbon side is retaining the core figures of the side in order to have a great season once again, next season.
Sporting Clube de Portugal
Sporting are coming off the back of what was ultimately a successful season, although they finished comfortably behind Benfica and Porto (13 and 11 points respectively). They ended the season with two trophies after what was, to put it lightly, a turbulent summer.
The club had to compete with what in all honesty isn’t the greatest Sporting CP side, losing so many key squad members before the season started didn’t set the Lions up for a fantastic season but they still managed a domestic double, due to a large extent to the heroics of the most-wanted man in Europe at the moment, Bruno Fernandes.
So, what do Sporting need? How do they improve? What will the squad look like come 2019/20 and what are the aims for the upcoming season?
Confirmed business so far
Luciano Vietto is coming to the Alvalade as Sporting and Atlético Madrid finally came to a solution to the Gelson Martins saga. Whilst many Sportinguistas were still left unsatisfied by the deal, valuing Martins higher than what Sporting received in cash plus the money paid for Vietto.
However, I do believe that it would be foolish to write off Vietto. He is 25 years old so is a good age with a mix of youth and experience, possesses a lot of talent which we have witnessed throughout his career. His performances for Fulham in the premier league left a lot to be desired, scoring just once and registering 4 assists in 20 games for the London club. However, this move might be exactly what he needs, a fresh start in a new league, a new club and playing in front of a terrific fanbase. At Villareal he scored 20 and made 8 assists in 48 games in all competitions in his first and only season, before signing for Madrid giants Atléti. It was here that he started to struggle, although his time out on loan for Sevilla brought some success, scoring 10 goals and contributing 6 assists in 31 games in all competitions. If Sporting can keep him fit and the fire inside Vietto is once again lit, they will have a great asset and I truly believe it. He is a Sportinguista now so relative of what SCP fans may think of him prior to his arrival, now is the time to get behind him and be positive.
Luís Neto also comes in for Sporting, the experienced CB became something of a cult hero at Zenit, a true fan favourite. With his experience and undeniable quality, he is another option that gives Sporting a bit more depth at centre-back.
The rumour mill
The latest rumours are that Sporting want to generate at least 25 million euros in player sales and that is without the sale of Bruno Fernandes, but we’ll get to Fernandes shortly.
Matheus Pereira, Domingos Duarte and Iuri Medeiros may well represent some of this 25 million, with all three coming off a relatively good season and aged just 23, 24 and 24 respectively. Paulo Fonseca is the new coach of Roma and it is rumoured that he is asking about the availability of Duarte. Ryan Gauld is another player whose time at Sporting seems to be up. All in all, he has had a torrid time in Portugal and has failed to live up to his early promise, and he has been linked to several Scottish clubs. Getafe are supposedly very interested in Bruno Gaspar, the Angolan will be open to a move where he will receive more playing time, after featuring in just 16 games this season since his move from Fiorentina.
Moving onto incoming transfers, Belenenses SAD’s Eduardo Henriques is rumoured to be on his way to Sporting. I’m not too sure how much sense this deal makes. Eduardo is a decent enough player but if ABOLA’s claims are true that the deal will cost Sporting around 2.7 million and the possibility of losing 2/3 academy talents in exchange, it doesn’t seem to add up. Will be interesting to see how this one plays out. Another potential target is Braga’s Paulinho, not sure how much truth there is to this one and reports are Sporting are still far from a deal. Paulinho is 26 years of age and plays predominately as a second striker, as opposed to an out-and-out number 9. He is technically good and could be a good addition to the Sporting ranks.
Finally, we move onto Bruno Fernandes and how any potential deal will affect Sporting. This is a saga that I suspect will rumble on until the end of the window. That said, Sporting will hope that if Bruno is to go, he goes swiftly, and Sporting have the chance to properly allocate the funds received to the right areas. It is likely that once a deal is completed or near-completed, a lot more transfer targets aired in the local and national press will materialise, with Sporting having greater financial clout. Like with the Félix rumours, it seems every top club in Europe is interested in Fernandes and the latest (as of yesterday at time of writing) is that PSG have joined the race for his signature.
The truth at this stage is that nobody in the media knows and I’m not sure even Bruno and his agency team have decided on his next club. Keep a close eye on this situation as it could represent a huge sum of money coming into Sporting. Yes they will be losing a key player but they can then begin to properly rebuild and hopefully kick on into the next season, gunning for top performances in the Europa League and attempting to close the gap on Porto and Benfica.
By Aaron Barton
