Mano Menezes will have more options to decide the starting defense duo of the Corinthians in 2024. After the departure of Gil and Bruno Méndez, the coach gained three other options for the sector.
Félix Torres is released to travel to Brazil and sign with Corinthians
The first “reinforcement” for the defense was the confirmation of Lucas Verríssimo’s stay. Timão agreed to purchase the defender from Benfica for 8 million euros (around R$43 million at current prices) in three installments that will be paid in October 2024, 2025 and 2026.
1 of 2 Lucas Veríssimo starts at the front for a starting position in the Corinthians defense in 2024 — Photo: Fernando Roberto Lucas Veríssimo starts at the front for a starting position in the Corinthians defense in 2024 — Photo: Fernando Roberto
Raul Gustavo, loaned to Bahia last season, will also be an option in the squad again this season. The player ended up not being bought by the Bahian team and will be used by Mano Menezes. Caetano, who finished 2023 as a starter, is another option.
Looking to replace the departures of Gil and Bruno Méndez, the Corinthians went to the market and made two signings: the Ecuadorian Félix Torres, who was at Santos Laguna-MEX, and Gustavo Henrique, a Brazilian defender who played for Valladoid in the Spanish second division.
The arrival of the two players should increase the dispute in the sector to choose who will be Lucas Veríssimo’s partner. In the first training session of the year, still without Torres and Gustavo Henrique, Mano Menezes chose Caetano as the starter.
Relationship x experience
The Brazilian may have a small advantage in the personal dispute with Félix Torres for the starting spot. The defender played seven seasons alongside Lucas Veríssimo at Santos. The pair have known each other for a long time and are friends off the field.
Close to Corinthians, Gustavo Henrique will have economic rights divided between three clubs
Trained at the Santos academy, Gustavo Henrique played for the Vila Belmiro club until 2019, when he transferred to Flamengo. Lucas Veríssimo stayed the following season until he was traded to Benfica.
If rapport can help Gustavo Henrique, experience is Félix Torres’s trump card in the fight for a place among the team’s starters. Corinthians. At 26 years old, the defender was named as the best active Ecuadorian defender by compatriot Diego Palácios, a full-back who is also a reinforcement for the Corinthians for the season.
2 of 2 Félix Torres played the last World Cup for Ecuador — Photo: Youssef Loulidi/Fantasista/Getty Images Félix Torres played the last World Cup for Ecuador — Photo: Youssef Loulidi/Fantasista/Getty Images
Developed by Barcelona de Guayaquil, Torres stayed at the club until 2019 when he was traded to Santos Laguna-MEX. On his resume, the defender has a Copa América (2021) and a World Cup (2022) with the Ecuador national team.
Félix Torres and Gustavo Henrique are expected in the next few days to sign the contract and present themselves to coach Mano Menezes for the pre-season.
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2024-01-11 07:00:24
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