Diogo Luís slams Benfica player: lacks the commitment required | OneFootball

With the transfer window now closed, Diogo Luís analyzed Benfica’s business in the summer window, both incomings and outgoings. However, the pundit also aimed criticism at one player who remained in the Eagles’ squad: Dodi Lukebakio. In Diogo Luís’s view, the Belgian international has yet to show on the pitch the level expected given the investment made.

“Another issue was Lukebakio. Yet another player on high wages, but who does not show the commitment the coach demands. Looking at the Portuguese league, I have no doubt that in some matches he could be important. The issue is that Lukebakio’s salary should be paying for a player who makes the difference in every game,” he wrote in the newspaper 'A Bola'.

Benfica strengthened the squad with names such as João Palhinha, Clément Lenglet and Claudio Echeverri, but for Diogo Luís, none of them is Rui Costa’s main signing. “Put simply, the big signing was Marco Silva,” the pundit stressed, praising the coach’s immediate impact.

In his analysis, the manager managed, in just a few weeks, to “increase the value of assets many did not believe in and create an identity on the pitch befitting the size of the club.” Despite his praise for Marco Silva’s work, Diogo Luís also issued a warning about the Eagles’ financial reality.

“Financially, the situation is different. In a year without the Champions League, the goal should be to reduce the club’s recurring costs. Given the financial difficulties and the instability in the boardroom, Benfica’s transfer market was slow and populist. It focused on players with status, some of them over 30, who are expected to be starters and represent an increase in the wage bill for the coming seasons,” he concluded.

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