Souffian El Karouani close to Benfica loan with option to buy | OneFootball

Benfica have an agreement with Saudi club Al Qadsiah to take Morocco international Souffian El Karouani, 25, on loan with an option to buy. The move is close to completion.

El Karouani has already arrived in Lisbon, landing late on Sunday. “It feels fantastic and I am really happy to be here. I cannot wait to get started,” he said. “I had the chance to return to Europe and Benfica are one of the biggest clubs in Europe, so I did not need to think twice. I want to win trophies and have a good season with Benfica,” he told BTV.

The agreement includes a purchase option expected to be around €10m. The clubs will share his salary during the loan, which runs until the end of this season.

He added that he spoke to Marco Silva before travelling. “I had a phone call with him, it was a great conversation and I told him I cannot wait to start.”

El Karouani offers an attacking threat. He finished last season with 50 appearances for Utrecht, scoring five and providing 18 assists.

Source: Glorioso 1904

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”