Victor Lindelof has signed a new deal at Benfica, putting an end to talk of a move to Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester United for the moment
According to Portuguese outlet O Jogo, Benfica have reached an agreement with both Victor Lindelof as well as his teammate Lisandro Lopez to extend their contracts and confirmed this in a report sent to Securities Market Commission (CMVM) when providing their accounts for the first half of 2016/17.
” In terms of renewal policy, Benfica SAD chose to extend the employment relationship with athlete Lisandro López for three more sports seasons, that is, until June 30, 2021 and, at the end of the semester, renewed with the athlete Victor Lindelof, who extended his connection to Benfica until the end of the 2020/2021 season,” the report said, according to O Jogo.
Lindelof, who joined Benfica from Swedish club Vasteras for a €3 million deal back in 2012, has risen through the ranks to become one of Benfica’s key players and his performances have not gone unnoticed in Europe.
Manchester United were heavily linked with a move for the 22-year old centre half throughout January with many sources even claiming a deal was on the verge of being complete, however no agreement was reached with Benfica and the defender stayed in Portugal.
Some outlets recently stated that United had reached a pre-agreement with Lindelof over a summer transfer but it appears that these reports were unfounded given the fact that Benfica have reached an agreement with him themselves.
Barcelona were also interested in signing the Swedish international along with his teammate Nelson Semedo and Lindelof would have added some much-needed youth to their options at centre-back.
Samuel Umtiti is Barcelona’s only centre back who is under the age of 30 and with Javier Mascherano’s future at the club past this season uncertain, and Jeremy Mathieu almost certainly set to depart, the Catalans will need to sign a centre back this summer.
Real Madrid were another club recently linked with a move for Lindelof in the summer, as they look to add options to their squad as well. Pepe could leave at the end of the season and with Raphael Varane being linked with moves away from the club, Madrid could find themselves in need of a centre back.
Despite Nacho impressing whenever he has played this season, the Spaniard has not been able to break into Zidane’s first team on a permanent basis. Given Lindelof’s age, he would have been a good option in the long term as well.
It now appears that any club interested in signing him will have two choices – wait a few years to sign the Swede, or pay over the odds to convince Benfica to sell this summer. It remains to be seen what any interested club will choose to do.
