Benfica prodigy called up for Portugal, replaces Chelsea star | OneFootball

João Veloso, a midfielder for Benfica, has been promoted from the U-20 National Team to the U-21 National Team to replace Dário Essugo, a Chelsea midfielder who was dismissed due to a right thigh muscle problem. Thus, the Benfica player makes his debut in the U-21 team, despite already having 36 caps at other levels.

A change in the call-up dictated by the injury of Enzo Maresca's protégé, who complained of right thigh pain after Monday's training. The Chelsea player was evaluated by the Health and Performance Department on Tuesday morning and was declared "unavailable".

João Veloso already participated in the training session that took place on Tuesday afternoon, September 2, and will be an option for coach Luís Freire for the matches against the national teams of Azerbaijan (September 5, in Barcelos) and Scotland (September 9, in Motherwell).

As our Newspaper advanced, exclusively, Benfica's management have high hopes for João Veloso, who should be rewarded, in the future, with a contract renewal that binds him to the reds, as well as a salary increase. The eagles are thinking of a clause between 80 and 100 million euros to secure a player who is seen as a real star in the future.

João Veloso has already made his debut in Benfica's main team and came on at the end of the Super Cup won by the eagles this season, against Sporting (1-0). The midfielder was also on the bench in five more official matches of the A team, but ended up not being used by Bruno Lage.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.