Fredrik Aursnes, 26, Norwegian defensive midfielder for Feyenoord, of the Netherlands, is Benfica’s target to strengthen the midfield, an explicit request from coach Roger Schmdit, who knows him well given that they coincided in the Dutch league last season.
The news was brought out today by Fabrizio Romano, an Italian journalist specialized in the market, and later by the Dutch press. The Reds’ SAD has made an offer of 15 million (plus an undisclosed amount in goals) and will settle everything with the player’s agent, but with no understanding with Feyenoord.
Fredrik Aursnes arrived at Feyenoord last season, where he took a part in the team coached by Arne Slot, finishing the season with 47 appearances, four assists and one goal, making him stand out in the squad as a defensive midfielder. Before that, he spent practically his entire career at Molde, in Norway, a club in which he won a championship and a Norwegian cup. He has eight caps for the national team.
One of the first options to strengthen the defensive midfield, which Weigl currently owns, was Ibrahim Sangaré, who had worked with coach Roger Schmidt at PSV.. But the exorbitant amount (about 40 million) demanded by the Eindhoven club forced Benfica’s SAD to give up the deal. Now a new window on the market has opened and much more accessible, but still dependent on Feyenoord’s OK.
If Fredrik Aursnes is signed, Benfica can market Julian Weigl. The German midfielder, remember, is highly coveted by Eintracht Frankfurt (among other German clubs) and can earn nearly €20 million, exactly the amount Benfica SAD paid for the German in January 2020, when he was signed by Borussia Dortmund.
Schmidt, 28 years old in Switzerland
Roger Schmidt has called up 28 players – 11 less than the one he took to training in the Algarve – for the private game with Spain’s Girona (Friday, at 4.30pm, Sport TV1) in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland. Pizzi, Taarabt and Gabriel are some of the absentees in the German coach’s selection. The Portuguese is negotiating a departure to Dubai, but the cancellation from today’s meeting is for personal reasons as his parents were run over and Pizzi remained in Portugal to monitor the recovery.
Reinforcements João Victor and Ristic stayed in Lisbon to recover from physical problems, while the young Tomás Araújo and Martim Neto, little used in preparation for the season, also did not continue their journey and had to be loaned out. André Almeida, Meité, Diogo Goncalves, Gil Dias and Chiquinho, who are also on the expendable/negotiable list like Pizzi, Gabriel and Taarabt, were called up for today’s game against Girona.
This will be the final test in Benfica’s pre-season, which will be presented to fans on the 26th, against Newcastle, in the Eusébio Cup. Then it’s real, with the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League (August 2). The debut in the I Liga 2022-23 is on the 5th, with Arouca.
nuno.fernandes@dn.pt
Source: El heraldo
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
