Transfer: Benfica and Rui Costa beat rivals to 22-year-old midfielder | OneFootball

Issa Doumbia may be closer to becoming a Benfica signing. In recent hours, the international press, particularly in Italy, has reported that the Lisbon club, presided over by Rui Costa, is set to make an offer for the Venezia midfielder, thus moving ahead of the competition, including Sporting.

According to Nicolò Schira, Benfica are very interested in the 22-year-old player who helped the Italian side return to Serie A, a competition in which they will take part in 2026/27. The same source assures that the Eagles will be the first to submit an official offer to the club’s board.

However, newspaper Record recalls that Sporting were the first to enter the race for Doumbia, having even gone as far as making an offer worth €10 million, which also includes performance-related variables. However, the fact that Benfica are interested has greatly complicated the operation for the Lions, who are looking for a replacement for Hidemasa Morita.

It should be remembered that Giovanni Stroppa, Venezia’s coach, is not indifferent to the strong interest surrounding the 22-year-old midfielder and has issued a warning to those interested. From what is known, the Italian coach said that the player is worth far more than €15 million, thus making the process more difficult.

With promotion to the top flight secured, Venezia will be more willing to sit down at the negotiating table and listen to offers for the signing of Issa Doumbia, one of the pillars of the Italian team’s project. With this in mind, Benfica are looking to secure their first signing for the new season.

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