Benfica have submitted an offer to sign Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Houssem Aouar, according to Foot Mercato.
Benfica’s offer for Aouar is less than €10 million. However, there are also two last-minute offers from Premier League clubs for Aouar.
The France international is in a very uncertain situation with only four days left in the transfer window and one year on his contract. Aouar had strong interest from Nottingham Forest, but Lyon rejected their €10m bid.
Lyon have been demanding around €15m from previous suitors for the 24-year-old.
It is unclear how Aouar’s situation could play out with the player himself undecided. While he prefers a move to England, he is not keen on joining a club fighting to avoid relegation.
Leicester City showed interest in the player in preparation for the departure of Youri Tielemans, but the Belgian is still with the Foxes.
OGC Nice and Real Betis also showed interest in signing Aouar, but nothing concrete materialised.
A chance to move to Benfica might appeal to Aouar. The Portuguese club will play Champions League football this season, and he could slot in alongside the promising Enzo Fernandez and Florentino Luis.
Benfica are looking to offload Julian Weigl, with Borussia Monchengladbach interested. It could make space for the signing of another midfielder.
Any deal for Aouar would make the player signing number eight for Benfica. The club is keenly rebuilding the squad for Roger Schmidt.
They have brought in Fernandez, David Neres, Joao Victor, Alexander Bah, Petar Musa, Mihailo Ristic and Fredrik Aursnes.
At the moment, Aouar is still recovering from an ankle injury. The knock has kept him out of Lyon’s opening three Ligue 1 games.
Les Gones have started their campaign well with two wins and one draw. Next up, they welcome AJ Auxerre to the Groupama Stadium.
