Young players' roles adjusted following the return of World Cup internationals
With the return of Andreas Schjelderup and Fredrik Aursnes, the last Benfica players involved in the FIFA Club World Cup, head coach Marco Silva is set to reshape his squad, with several young prospects seeing changes to their day-to-day roles.
Attacking midfielder Gonçalo Moreira, 20, who played the full 90 minutes in the pre-season friendly against Belenenses, will split his time between the first team and Benfica B. The Portugal Under-21 international will continue his development by training with both squads, depending on the needs of each team.
Seventeen-year-old midfielder Miguel Figueiredo will follow a similar pathway. He is expected to train primarily with Benfica B while remaining available for first-team training sessions and matches whenever called upon by Marco Silva. Figueiredo started in Benfica's UEFA Europa League qualifying match against St. Gallen after several senior midfielders were unavailable due to World Cup commitments and illness.
Nineteen-year-old centre-back Rui Silva will also move into the Benfica B environment but remains in contention to feature with the senior squad as a potential fourth-choice central defender. Although new signing Gabriel Índio, who joined from Athletic Minas Gerais, is expected to occupy that position in the pecking order, Rui Silva, João Fonseca and Joshua Wynder are all considered viable alternatives.
The trio benefited from a full pre-season with the first team while Benfica's World Cup internationals were absent.
The situation is different for João Rego. The 21-year-old attacking midfielder, who has been part of the first-team squad since last season, has attracted interest from other clubs and is expected to leave on loan. For now, he will begin training with Benfica B while his future is finalised.
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