Fábio Espinho: Benfica player perfect for Marco Silva, fits like a glove | OneFootball

João Palhinha arrived at Benfica and quickly began to justify the investment made by the club’s SAD. Signed from Bayern Munich for around €14 million, a fee that could rise to €19 million depending on objectives, the Portugal international has already earned his place in Marco Silva’s midfield.

Palhinha’s impact does not surprise Fábio Espinho, who shared a dressing room with Palhinha at Moreirense during the first half of the 2015/16 season, when the player was only 20 years old. Speaking to Rádio Renascença, the former midfielder highlighted the qualities he had already identified in the Portugal international at that time.

"He impressed me straight away with his professionalism, the way he trained, the way he competed. With this work rate, he will free up the players further forward even more, such as Sudakov and Barreiro. He is comfortable on his own in the number 6 role," he added.

Fábio Espinho also recalled the mentality Palhinha showed from his first steps in the Primeira Liga. "Even at a young age, you could already see he was a player with a different mentality, he always wanted to learn. He always wanted more. Everything João has achieved so far comes as no surprise to me," he said.

For the former player, he is an almost perfect fit in Benfica under Marco Silva. "I think João fits like a glove in this Marco Silva Benfica side," he said, recalling that the coach already knew the midfielder from their time together at Fulham: "It was no coincidence that he pushed to bring him here, to our football."

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