Famalicão defender Ibrahima Ba could be a name to keep an eye on if Marco Silva remains at Fulham this summer.
Jornal de Noticias report that the Fulham manager has ‘requested evaluations’ on the 21-year-old this summer.
Marco Silva interest
The newspaper explains that signing a centre-back has become a priority objective for Benfica. Nicolas Otamendi departed the club this week to return to Argentina.
Any signing will need a stamp of approval from their new coach. Jose Mourinho is expected to return to Real Madrid.
Marco Silva is the leading candidate to replace him. Sport Witness have been covering various reports from Portugal on that matter over the last fortnight.
And while Benfica’s defensive targets aren’t known yet, the Fulham manager does have one name on his list. According to Jornal de Noticias’ information, he has requested evaluations of Famalicão defender Ibrahima Ba.
Fulham or Benfica
The Portuguese boss is interested in taking him to Craven Cottage. It remains to be seen if that interest would persist should he move to Benfica. Either way, the defender is on his list and a player that he’s is seemingly keen on.
The youngster joined Famalicão’s U21 side on a free transfer in 2024 after coming through the ranks at Senegalese club AJEL Rufisque.
He played on loan at Valenciennes in 2023 but has established himself in Portugal. So far he’s made 27 appearances to date for Famalicão’s first team and 12 in their U23s. This season he played in 54% of the available minutes in Liga Portugal across 21 games, scoring once and assisting once.
His current deal with the Portuguese side runs until 2030 after they handed him a new deal at the end of March.
He’s valued at €12m, but Famalicão would surely look for more than that, particularly if a Premier League side like Fulham come calling. That might depend on Marco Silva, and what he does himself this summer.
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