Breaking news! Jonathan Jesus' agent sets up meeting with Benfica | OneFootball

Benfica could take an important step in the attempt to sign Jonathan Jesus. As far as it has been possible to ascertain, the centre-back’s agent is expected in Lisbon this Monday, with a meeting scheduled with Rui Costa and Mário Branco to discuss the player’s future and understand how far the Eagles are willing to go in the negotiations.

Although the interest is concrete, there is still no official offer submitted to Cruzeiro. As such, the meeting should serve to define the basis of a possible move and assess the figures needed to convince the Brazilian club to part with one of its regular starters. It should be recalled that Jonathan Jesus has already been identified by the structure led by Rui Costa as the main target to strengthen Marco Silva’s central defence, especially after António Silva left for Bournemouth.

However, the biggest obstacle to the deal, for now, is not on the financial side. Cruzeiro remain reluctant to negotiate over the Brazilian international, mainly for sporting reasons. The 22-year-old defender is considered an indispensable piece by Artur Jorge and plays a prominent role in the Minas Gerais side.

In addition, the Belo Horizonte club recently saw Luis Sinisterra and Gabriel Pec suffer injuries, a circumstance that further reduced the coach’s options and increased the resistance to losing another important member of the squad. Given this scenario, Benfica know they will have to present strong arguments to convince the Brazilian officials to negotiate Jonathan Jesus.

The arrival of the player’s agent in the Portuguese capital could therefore represent a decisive moment in the talks. Besides bringing the parties closer, the meeting should allow the Benfica SAD to understand Cruzeiro’s demands and whether there are conditions to move forward with a concrete offer for the centre-back, identified as Marco Silva’s priority to strengthen the defence in this summer transfer window.

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