On his first day at Benfica, Gabriel Índio stuns everyone | OneFootball

Gabriel Índio was the big surprise at the start of Benfica’s pre-season work in Seixal. Although he has not yet been officially unveiled by the Eagles, the young Brazilian centre-back has already taken part in the opening stages of the new season with the team led by Marco Silva and impressed in the medical examinations and physical tests.

According to Record, the defender stood out for his physical ability at such a young age, a trait that had already been highlighted by Rui Duarte, the coach who gave him his start at Athletic-MG. “He is very strong physically, an animal,” he said.

The centre-back, signed for 4 million euros, was one of the 30 players present on the first day of work for Benfica’s new season, with the curious detail that he has still not been presented as a new signing. Gabriel Índio is only 17, and FIFA prohibits international transfers of minors, except in rare cases that do not apply to the Brazilian’s move.

Benfica requested special authorisation from the body that governs world football so that the centre-back could travel to Portugal earlier, in order to speed up his adaptation process to Benfica and to Portugal. Gabriel Índio will be presented on 26 July, the day he turns 18.

Although that has not yet happened, the 17-year-old signed from Athletic-MG has already become familiar with his new surroundings and has been welcomed by his teammates. Besides him, names such as João Fonseca, Daniel Banjaqui, José Neto, Rui Silva, Miguel Figueiredo, Gonçalo Moreira, João Rego, Jaden Umeh, Anísio Cabral and Peter Edokpolor were present.

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