Sessegnon & Ponce arrived in a deal that saw the highly talented Nelson Semedo head to Spain. Parfitt noted that the price was indeed very high for theplayers that have arrived, but having worked with them both at Levante, he is sure that they will be pushing for first team opportunities at Benfica sooner rather than later, and that in the longer term the deal will look an absolute steal.
The only other deal was with Standard Liege. This one saw yound Spanish full back Alex Grimaldo head to Belgium, with Ghanian Abdul Rahman Baba come to Portugal. The African is another that Parfitt feels ties in with the ethos already in place at Benfica. Youthful enthusiasm combined with talent, and bucket loads of potential.
Various other moves have been discussed with multiple clubs, most notably for Egyptian wide man Mohamed Salah, but nothing has been agreed. A couple of youth players are transferlisted, and unless a bid has been made earlier today, but that aside the man in charge has decided to keep the squad as is now until the end of the season, unless something dramatic pops up.
The Lisbon Lion was asked for a half term assessment, amd responded with a couple of lines. "Levante were brilliant. We were bottom briefly, and I got them turned around to knock on the play off door. I dont doubt I'd have taken them up this season, and it broke my heart to leave. I just hope Dario knows what he's doing, but so far it just looks like he's tearing the heart from the side. It's a bit like when you split up with your missus and she ends up with a wife beater, or even worse, somebody like Beddows. You feel like you want to go back and help, but you cant. Sorry, you meant a half term report on Benfica? Well all I can say as that despite Nuno's best efforts to balls things up, they are still in and around the sharp end, and with a bit of work on the training ground, I'll be doing my best to have them in div 1 next season. Not an easy task, but I reckon I can get the job done"
Parfitt was also asked what he would do should the side go up. Would he look to break the youthful squad up with the aim of swapping potential for ready made older talent, or would he stick? Parfitt is non commital at this stage. He said that his thoughts are solely on this season at present, and what happens next season will be decided at a later date. One thing is for sure though, young Renato Sanches and Kylian Mbappe, AKA Bap Man, will stay in Portugal no matter what.
Kylian's company car
So what are the aims for the second half of the season? As stated, promotion is one of the targets, but also some silverware in the shape of youth cup football. Again, not an easy competition to win, and given the previous managements best efforts to sneak in a bunch of ringers on a couple of occasions, it will likely be 3rd in thr group if they qualify, ande a difficult route from there on in. Parfitt feels his youngsters are up to the challenge, and points to the fact that several of the youth side are regulars at first team level, and several others are knocking loudly on the door.
A double in the first half season, even if it turns out to be a youth cup / play off double, would certainly be welcomed by a man who has so far managed to get relegated, and then rattle around in the middle of division 5 for the vast majority of his Top 100 career.
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