Benfica close to sealing Otamendi replacement | OneFootball

Benfica are very close to securing a reinforcement for the heart of the defence. The assurance was given by Mário Branco, general director of football for the Reds, who revealed that the Eagles are at an advanced stage of negotiations to sign the player who will fill the vacancy left by Nicolás Otamendi, who has since moved to River Plate after his contract expired.

Without revealing the identity of the target, the executive also explained the club’s strategy for the transfer market and commented on the arrival of Gabriel Índio, a young Brazilian centre-back who is only 17 years old. Mário Branco began by recalling that Benfica started preparing for the new season before the official start of the sporting year, due to the Europa League qualifying schedule.

“Obviously, as a result of the constraints, some dependent on us, others not dependent on us, we will have to start much earlier, because we have the Europa League qualifiers. In this sense, Gabriel’s (Índio) arrival was something logical given Benfica’s DNA in the search for young talents with great potential. Gabriel fits exactly into that spirit,” the director said.

Despite the confidence placed in Gabriel Índio, Mário Branco made it clear that the reinforcement for central defence will not stop there. The Benfica official confirmed that the club are in very advanced negotiations with an experienced centre-back, intended to take the place left by Otamendi and balance the youth in that area of the team.

“At this moment we are already at a very advanced stage of negotiations with the player who will replace the man who was our captain in recent seasons, Nico Otamendi, and who, ultimately, will help offset Gabriel’s youth a little, with the experience, the quality and the pedigree of a player who we hope can already join us here at Benfica Campus in the coming days,” the executive concluded.

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