Tomás Araújo's agent to meet Benfica over player's future | OneFootball

Benfica have already begun the process of renewing Tomás Araújo’s contract. The Portuguese international’s agent, Ali Barat, is expected to travel to Lisbon later this week with the aim of meeting with Benfica’s SAD to negotiate a new deal for the 24-year-old centre-back. The club is still looking for a new centre-back on the market.

The Iranian agent is expected in the Portuguese capital and should be at the Estádio da Luz to watch the match against Hearts, the first leg of the third Europa League qualifying round, scheduled for Thursday. The information was reported by Record.

Although Tomás Araújo is under contract until 2029, Benfica’s directors want to extend the deal and reward the player’s development with a significant improvement in his salary terms. The structure led by Rui Costa believes the defender will take on an even more important role next season, following António Silva’s departure to Bournemouth.

The centre-back’s last renewal came in 2024, at a time when he had not yet earned the status he currently holds. After two seasons of establishing himself, Tomás Araújo is preparing to become a starter in the heart of defence and one of the main leaders in Marco Silva’s dressing room. Although the process is not considered urgent, given the length of his current contract, Benfica want to move early and avoid a scenario similar to that of Andreas Schjelderup.

The Norwegian winger, whose contract runs until 2028, has still not responded to the renewal offer made by the SAD, despite the strong rise in his value over recent seasons. While continuing to search the market for a centre-back to fill the gap left by António Silva’s departure, the expectation at the Luz is that Tomás Araújo will partner Clément Lenglet in central defence during the 2026/27 season.

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