The Lisbon Lion

After leaving his spirtual home behind, Parfitt ended up at Benfica. He has managed to bring a few of the youngsters with him, namely Aniello Viscovo, Matheus Pereira, Ezequiel Ponce, and Ryan Sessegnon.

Sessegnon & Ponce arrived in a deal that saw the highly talented Nelson Semedo head to Spain. Parfitt noted that the price was indeed very high for theplayers that have arrived, but having worked with them both at Levante, he is sure that they will be pushing for first team opportunities at Benfica sooner rather than later, and that in the longer term the deal will look an absolute steal.

The only other deal was with Standard Liege. This one saw yound Spanish full back Alex Grimaldo head to Belgium, with Ghanian Abdul Rahman Baba come to Portugal. The African is another that Parfitt feels ties in with the ethos already in place at Benfica. Youthful enthusiasm combined with talent, and bucket loads of potential.

Various other moves have been discussed with multiple clubs, most notably for Egyptian wide man Mohamed Salah, but nothing has been agreed. A couple of youth players are transferlisted, and unless a bid has been made earlier today, but that aside the man in charge has decided to keep the squad as is now until the end of the season, unless something dramatic pops up.

The Lisbon Lion was asked for a half term assessment, amd responded with a couple of lines. “Levante were brilliant. We were bottom briefly, and I got them turned around to knock on the play off door. I dont doubt I’d have taken them up this season, and it broke my heart to leave. I just hope Dario knows what he’s doing, but so far it just looks like he’s tearing the heart from the side. It’s a bit like when you split up with your missus and she ends up with a wife beater, or even worse, somebody like Beddows. You feel like you want to go back and help, but you cant. Sorry, you meant a half term report on Benfica? Well all I can say as that despite Nuno’s best efforts to balls things up, they are still in and around the sharp end, and with a bit of work on the training ground, I’ll be doing my best to have them in div 1 next season. Not an easy task, but I reckon I can get the job done”

Parfitt was also asked what he would do should the side go up. Would he look to break the youthful squad up with the aim of swapping potential for ready made older talent, or would he stick? Parfitt is non commital at this stage. He said that his thoughts are solely on this season at present, and what happens next season will be decided at a later date. One thing is for sure though, young Renato Sanches and Kylian Mbappe, AKA Bap Man, will stay in Portugal no matter what.