Benfica eye Tiago Gabriel for 2026/27 | OneFootball

Benfica are keeping an eye on Tiago Gabriel’s situation, a Portuguese centre-back who plays for Lecce, a club in Italy’s Serie A. The 21-year-old defender enjoyed a breakthrough season in Italy, helping the Salentini achieve their goal of staying up.

The defender left Estrela da Amadora in January 2025 and, once in Italy, quickly established himself, becoming a regular starter for the team. The information was reported by journalist Nicolò Schira, a specialist in the transfer market.

Signing a centre-back is one of Benfica’s priorities for the new season. Nicolás Otamendi has moved to River Plate, Gonçalo Oliveira is on the verge of joining Stade Rennais, while Tomás Araújo may only return to training later due to his participation in the Club World Cup, leaving António Silva as the only available centre-back at the start of pre-season.

In that context, Fulham defender Jorge Cuenca is also on Benfica’s list of targets and could even follow Marco Silva in a move to the Luz. Even so, a possible arrival of the Spaniard would not rule out the signing of another centre-back, as the club’s hierarchy want to strengthen the position.

Last season, José Mourinho worked with only three centre-backs for much of the campaign and even deployed Enzo Barrenechea in that role on occasion. Despite the reports of interest, there has so far been no concrete approach for the player, according to Record.

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