Portuguese giants Benfica have secured the services of former Sporting Lisbon forward Yannick Djalo on a Bosman transfer.
The Reds have been eyeing several targets this winter, as they look to add more depth to their squad. Jorge Jesus’ side lead the Primeira Liga race by five points and the tactician is keen to maintain that distance.
Having already loaned out http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/SC-Braga-c40460, the club were short of options, as a number of their players have been liked with moves to bigger European clubs.
Nicolas Gaitan and Oscar Cardozo are reportedly being monitored by the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Dynamo Kiev and they could be on their out of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984 in the summer if not the winter.
Jesus’ snapped Djalo on a free transfer, as the player’s move to Nice did not go through last summer. The striker joined the Ligue 1 outfit on the last day of the window but FIFA did not accept the move as it had been registered after the stroke of midnight.
The 25-year-old then returned to Lisbon but found himself out of Domingos Paciência’s plans. Although he trained with the Lions in order to maintain his fitness, he has not played any games for them since the start of the campaign.
With his unwanted status, it was reported that he was on the verge of signing for English Premier League side Aston Villa, however a transfer to Villa Park never materialized.
Benfica, who do not have many quality options up-front, chose to sign the Seleccao International and given that he was able for free, it looks like a shrewd piece of business by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jorge-c19120 Jesus.
For Djalo, the move should come as relief, as now he will be able to test his mettle against elite opposition in the UEFA Champions League and given how things are going, it is more than likely that he will end the season with silverware.
Although his goal-scoring record at Sporting is decent, it remains to be seen if he is picked ahead of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Oscar-c28720 Cardozo in the starting line-up. The duo have been in superb form this term and ousting them for a berth in the first-team will be quite
a challenge, even for Yannick Djalo.
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