Benfica tried to sign Lens striker, but the player said no | OneFootball

Benfica missed out on signing Mezian Mesloub Soares. The 16-year-old forward chose to stay at Lens, signing a professional contract with the French club, despite the strong interest shown by the Eagles.

According to the French newspaper L'Équipe, Benfica had been closely monitoring the striker’s development and even tried to convince him to move to Seixal. However, the offer put forward by Lens ultimately won out.

Born in France but also holding Portuguese nationality, Mezian Mesloub Soares is a Portugal youth international, having represented the Under-16 and Under-17 teams. The youngster gained attention last season when he made a memorable debut for Lens’s first team.

Just seconds after coming onto the pitch, he scored the only goal in the win over Nantes (1-0) in a Ligue 1 match, confirming the huge potential he is believed to have. In addition to Benfica, PSV was also closely following the striker’s situation and submitted an offer to secure his signing.

According to the same publication, Lens managed to convince the youngster to continue his development process at the club where he was trained, fending off competition from Benfica and PSV. Considered one of the emerging talents in French football, Mezian Mesloub Soares will therefore continue his development in Ligue 1, while Benfica misses out on one of the young players it had identified as a potential addition to its academy.

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