António Silva spotted at the airport, Benfica defender close to leaving | OneFootball

António Silva is getting closer and closer to leaving Benfica. The centre-back was seen at Cascais Airport, in Tires, on Friday morning, but chose not to speak to journalists, just a few hours after what appears to have been his last match wearing the Eagles’ shirt.

On Thursday, the Portugal international started in Benfica’s 5-0 thrashing of St. Gallen, a result that secured the Eagles’ place in the third qualifying round of the Europa League. After the final whistle, António Silva remained on the pitch at the Estádio da Luz for a few minutes, saying goodbye to the fans.

Marco Silva also confirmed at the press conference that the defender is on his way out, admitting that the player had already made up his mind. "António had already made that decision in his head; between Benfica’s board and his representatives, the talks that needed to happen took place."

The flight taking the defender to London was scheduled for 8:45 a.m., and further developments regarding the official announcement of the transfer are expected in the coming hours. In light of António Silva’s departure, Benfica have already identified their main target to strengthen the heart of the defence. One of the targets is Stepán Chaloupek, Slavia Prague’s centre-back.

The club’s board is preparing an offer of around €12 million for the 23-year-old player. However, everything indicates that the initial bid will be insufficient to convince Slavia Prague to let him go. In addition to Benfica, Hull City, Ipswich Town and Hamburg are also monitoring the situation.

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