French league footballer says he'll join Benfica in summer 2027 | OneFootball

After missing out on the World Cup while representing Benfica, Franjo Ivanovic has once again been called up to the Croatia national team. Asked about his move to Lens, on loan until the end of the season and without a purchase option, the young striker admitted it had been a positive one, despite the departure of coach Dino Toppmoller at the start of this month, but he is already looking ahead to a return to Benfica.

"I’m very happy I went there, I think it was a good step for me. I had a very good start, now there has been a change of coach, that’s part of football, it’s what the club decided. I’m a Benfica player, I’ll return next summer, we’ll see", he said at a press conference.

Ivanovic said he was happy with the call-up, despite missing the chance to experience a World Cup for the first time in his career. "Of course I wasn’t very happy, but what’s done is done. The most important thing for me is that now I’m here and looking at what lies ahead," he admitted.

The striker, who belongs to Benfica, is eager to represent his country. "It’s great for me when I see my teammates from the national team. Four matches? I’d rather the national team call-up lasted longer rather than shorter. The best thing is to play against the best national teams. It would be important to beat Czechia, so we’ll see what happens," he added.

Over the course of the 2025/26 season, Franjo Ivanovic made 42 appearances wearing the eagle on his chest: 25 in the domestic league, 11 in the Champions League (including four matches in the qualifying phase), four in the Portuguese Cup and two in the League Cup. In those matches, he scored eight goals and provided two assists.

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