Roma are about to see Marcos Leonardo, whom they chased until the last moment in the summer, join another team, as Benfica are very close to acquiring him. Santos’ relegation hasn’t impacted the valuation of the talent. The Portuguese club could seal the deal for €15M plus €5M or something in that neighborhood, Ansa relays.
The prospect was always bound to leave in January. His camp held talks with Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Newcastle United, but they didn’t lead to proper negotiations. The Giallorossi haven’t been active on this front either in recent weeks. They have been more focused on other roles.
Santos’ president Marcelo Teixeira confirmed on his social media pages to have received a formal bid from Benfica for Marcos Leonardo, which wasn’t considerably higher than what Roma offered last summer, but the Peixe didn’t want to sell at the time.
The prodigy bagged 21 goals last year but didn’t finish his campaign on a high note and was demoted in favor of veteran Julio Furch also for behavioral problems after his missed departure. He wasn’t called up by Brazil U-23 for the Olympic qualifications.
🚨🔴🇧🇷 Marcos Leonardo to Benfica, here we go! Agreement in place with Santos for Brazilian striker after initial bid on Tuesday.
Understand fee will be €18m fixed, there will be no add-ons.
Marcos Leonardo has already accepted.
Documents to be checked then signed. 🦅 pic.twitter.com/9cfuGIougw
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 3, 2024
Our Take on Roma and Marcos Leonardo
These opportunities need to be seized when they are there for the taking. The Giallorossi did the best they could, but the timing was off. Their chances of landing him probably already ended when they got Romelu Lukaku, possibly not just one for one season, and Serdar Azmoun.
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