Glorioso 1904 exclusive: Newcastle land Horníček, why Benfica missed out | OneFootball

Lukas Hornícek was never close to joining Benfica. According to information gathered by Glorioso 1904, despite the rumours linking the Braga goalkeeper with the Club of Light in recent weeks, the SAD led by Rui Costa never submitted any formal offer for the Czech international.

As our newspaper has learned, the Minho club’s badge was always inflexible regarding the goalkeeper’s future. In the face of all the clubs that showed interest in Hornícek, the response was the same: only an offer in the region of 30 million euros, matching the value of his release clause, would open the door to a transfer.

Given that scenario, Benfica chose not even to begin talks, understanding that the amounts requested were completely outside the strategy defined for the market. The 24-year-old goalkeeper never went beyond the observation and analysis stage.

Meanwhile, the future of the Czech international should lie in the Premier League. Newcastle are in very advanced negotiations with Braga and are willing to pay the full amount of the release clause, a condition imposed by the Arsenalistas to let the player leave.

In this way, any scenario placing Hornícek at the Luz falls apart. Despite the speculation circulating in recent weeks, Benfica never made an offer nor considered entering a bidding war for the goalkeeper valued at 30 million euros.

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