Benfica coach Roger Schmidt assured on Thursday that footballer Ricardo Horta, a Sporting de Braga striker, will not be a reinforcement for the Luz club after several months of public interest in a transfer.
On the last day of the transfer market, and in the context of the press conference pending the reception of Vizela, of the fifth round of the Portuguese football competition, the German addressed the latest market rumors regarding the club he leads.
“Ricardo Horta is not coming, that’s clear,” the coach said, refusing to talk about the potential signings of striker Julian Draxler and central John Brooks, who are strongly associated with Benfica, without being made official.
In the end, however, Roger Schmidt found it necessary to hire another centre-back, due to the injury suffered by Brazilian Morato in the last game and the imminent departure of Belgian Vertonghen, who the German has also admitted Benfica will sell.
“The current problem is the injuries of Morato, João Victor and Lucas Verissimo, they are very good players. We will probably lose Jan Vertonghen and we have Otamendi and António Silva as central defenders ready to play. They are top solutions, but we will play a lot of games in the coming weeks and that’s why we may need another player for that position,” said the coach, who was signed by Benfica from PSV Eindhoven.
Despite the usual moves in the final days of the transfer window, the coach was “very pleased with the squad and the way they have played in recent weeks”, as it is sometimes “easier to transfer in the last few days”. “, due to the latest push of transfer closing deadlines.
Benfica, the isolated leader of the I League, with 12 points from as many points as possible, will face Vizela, 11th, with five points, on Friday, along with Gil Vicente, in a match in the fifth round, at 19:00. .:00, with arbitration by Fábio Veríssimo, of the Leiria Association.
Source: DN
