Marco Silva captivated by Benfica’s 18-year-old defender | OneFootball

According to Glorioso 1904, Marco Silva has been impressed by 18-year-old left-back José Neto, who could earn increased involvement in Benfica’s 2026/27 campaign.

Samuel Dahl remains first-choice and should keep his place for the home meeting with St. Gallen in the second leg of the Europa League second qualifying round. Neto may start collecting more minutes in the coming weeks.

The youngster ended last season hampered by injury, yet he had already made his senior bow count with three appearances under José Mourinho. He also featured 13 times for the B team, scoring once.

On Friday at Seixal, Neto started in a 5-1 friendly win over Belenenses and was handed the captain’s armband, reinforcing the staff’s faith in him.

The run-out came as Benfica looked to respond to their 2-1 defeat to St. Gallen in the first leg of the same tie. The goals against Belenenses were scored by Anísio Cabral, Ivanovic, Gianluca Prestianni, who netted twice, and Jhon Durán.

Source: Glorioso 1904