Marco Silva tried to lure Fulham centre-back, but Benfica missed out | OneFootball

Benfica’s search for a successor to António Silva has suffered another setback. After seeing Ibrahima Ba slip away to Sporting, the Eagles also missed out on signing Issa Diop, the centre-back who had been identified by the structure led by Rui Costa to strengthen the defence.

According to Correio da Manhã, the Morocco international was one of the names most appreciated by Marco Silva, who worked with the player for four seasons at Fulham. Under the Portuguese coach, Diop established himself as one of the English side’s key figures and cemented his international status. The 29-year-old centre-back has nine caps for Morocco and stood out at the World Cup, where he scored the goal that took the match against the Netherlands into extra time.

However, Benfica ultimately lost the race for the defender. Ipswich secured the signing of Issa Diop around two weeks ago, paying £8.5 million, a fee close to €10 million. According to the same source, the speed with which the deal was completed surprised Benfica’s officials.

Interestingly, on the same day Diop was officially unveiled by the English club, Sporting confirmed the signing of Ibrahima Ba, another player who was also on Benfica’s list. The Eagles even submitted a €15 million offer to Famalicão for the promising 21-year-old centre-back.

However, the process went through several developments, culminating in the defender’s move to Alvalade for €21.25 million. Faced with this scenario, Rui Costa and Marco Silva continue to assess the market in search of a new centre-back, with Jonathan Jesus remaining one of the main priorities to fill the gap left by António Silva’s move to Bournemouth.

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