How Rui Costa and the board mapped out Benfica’s January transfer plans | OneFootball

Even without many moves, Benfica’s SAD, led by Rui Costa, outlined a plan to get the house in order during the transfer window that has now closed in Portugal. A large part of the strategy involved players developed at Seixal.

Rui Costa and his colleagues methodically decided to move players such as Leandro Santos and Rafael Obrador, whose future at Luz looked difficult. All of this had a clear objective: to open up spots in the squad for other talents from Benfica Campus, such as Anísio Cabral, José Neto, and Daniel Banjaqui.

The Eagles already have renewal agreements in place with Anísio and José Neto, only waiting to be formalized after they turn 18 – the forward will come of age later this month, on the 15th, while the left-back celebrates his birthday on April 19. There is also good news for Rui Costa regarding Daniel Banjaqui’s situation, who is also closer to renewing.

The three U-17 world champions have already made an impression. Anísio only needed one touch of the ball to score on his debut for the first team (in the 4-0 thrashing of Estrela da Amadora); Banjaqui has already been called up by José Mourinho to the starting eleven on two occasions (both in the same match against the Reboleira team, and in the goalless draw in Tondela); and Neto has accumulated minutes (in the 2-0 defeat to Napoli and in the 4-0 win over Moreirense).

It is still possible that something may happen regarding João Rego’s situation in the coming hours. This is because the market remains open in Greece until tomorrow and PAOK is watching the forward very closely. The Thessaloniki club has already initiated contact with the Benfica management, with the player’s future now in the hands of the Eagles.

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