Bournemouth agree £26m fee for Benfica defender Silva

What the report says

BBC Sport reports that Bournemouth have agreed a deal worth up to nearly £26m to sign Benfica centre-back Antonio Silva. The 22-year-old Portugal international is travelling for a medical after the clubs settled on a package of £21.4m up front, with a further £4.3m possible through add-ons.

The move is described as an important one for Bournemouth, who had made replacing Marcos Senesi a priority after his free-transfer switch to Tottenham earlier in July. According to BBC Sport, club sources said the pursuit required patience, with agreement reached only after Benfica’s Europa League qualifying-round win over Swiss side St Gallen on Thursday.

Silva has been a regular at Benfica since entering the first team in 2022 and has played in the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup. He has won 20 caps for Portugal and was part of their squads at the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024, though he was not selected by Roberto Martinez for this summer’s tournament.

If completed, Silva would become Bournemouth’s second signing of the summer, following striker Alvaro Rodriguez’s arrival from Elche in a deal worth up to £25.7m. BBC Sport adds that Bournemouth, now managed by Marco Rose, are seeking stability after selling more than £200m worth of players last year and want to keep key players Alex Scott, Rayan and Junior Kroupi. Kroupi is expected to miss three to four months after a pre-season training injury.