Rui Costa set to lose Benfica talent to league rival | OneFootball

Leandro Santos will leave in January and head to Alverca. According to reports, the young right-back, who has been playing for Benfica’s reserve team, will embrace a new footballing challenge this winter transfer window, with his destination being a team that plays in the national first division.

As reported by the newspaper A Bola, the deal will be a permanent transfer, with the Ribatejo club paying Benfica around 500 thousand euros for Leandro Santos. The rumor was first reported by MaisFutebol and has since been confirmed by the sports daily.

The same source clarifies that the Clube da Luz will receive about half a million euros for the player, who made his debut in the 2024/25 Portuguese Cup against Estrela Amadora, but will retain around 50% of his rights, creating the opportunity to potentially bring the footballer back in the future.

The newspaper A Bola reveals that an agreement between Alverca and Leandro Santos is still pending, however, this situation is not seen as an obstacle to the deal. The 20-year-old is not in José Mourinho’s plans and, as the Special One mentioned in the press conference, there will be players leaving Benfica in January to get more playing time.

Leandro Santos — valued at 1 million euros — was one of the bets last season under Bruno Lage. In the current season, the number 71 has played nine official matches for Benfica’s reserve team in Liga Portugal Meu Super. In the 750 minutes he spent on the pitch, the 20-year-old registered one goal and one assist.

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