Lisbon, 25 December (EFE).- Benfica’s Argentinian Enzo Fernández and Gil Vicente’s Spaniard Fran Navarro shone in the Portuguese league, a competition in which Hispanic talents tend to stand out.
Enzo’s performances and Navarro’s goals were some of the highlights of the first half of the current edition of the Portuguese league, until now dominated by the ‘eagles’.
According to the Transfermarkt portal, Test currently has 312 foreigners among its 516 players, 60.5%.
The Brazilian is the most represented nationality, with 112 players, followed by the Spanish, with 26.
But the most valuable is the Argentine, Enzo Fernández, now world champion, with a market value of 35 million euros, according to the same source.
Enzo, 21, arrived this summer at Benfica, who paid 10 million euros to River Plate.
The presence of the Argentine in the “águilas” midfield, with influence in both the offensive and defensive aspects, has been one of the key factors in his dominance in the league, which he leads with 8 points and without any defeats.
His performances for Benfica and Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar, where he was considered the best young player in the tournament, have attracted the attention of the European giants, who will have to pay at least the €120m clause to sign him away.
GOAL AND ASSIST FOR THE SPANISH
As usual in Portugal, the Spanish talent stood out once again in this first part of the test, especially with goals from Valencian striker Fran Navarro.
Navarro, 24, is the second best scorer in the Portuguese league, with 8 goals for Gil Vicente, only 1 behind Gonçalo Ramos (Benfica).
In all competitions, the Valencia-trained striker has already scored 12 goals in 21 games, as well as one assist.
However, their aim in front of goal contrasts with the performance of the club from the city of Barcelos (northern Portugal), who currently occupy third bottom position in the table.
A sharp drop compared to the previous season, the first for Fran Navarro in Portugal, in which Gil Vicente, thanks to the Spaniard’s goals, managed to finish fifth.
Navarro’s continuity at the club is uncertain, as he has attracted interest from Spanish, French and even Portuguese greats, according to local press reports.
Another Spaniard who delights Portugal with his goals is Héctor Hernández of the Canaries, representing newly promoted Desportivo de Chaves in ninth place.
Hernández, the 27-year-old forward trained at Atlético de Madrid, arrived in Chaves last summer from Rayo Majadahonda.
In just half a season he went from the third tier of Spanish football to being one of the sensations of the Portuguese league, with 5 goals in 13 games.
Furthermore, all of his goals have translated into essential points for Chaves, whose goal is permanence.
While Navarro and Hernández stand out with their goals, Álvaro Djaló shines with his assists at Sporting de Braga.
Djaló, the 23-year-old striker born in Madrid and raised in Bilbao, already has 4 assists in 10 games, all as a substitute.
He is only surpassed by Iranian Mehdi Taremi (Porto), who leads the table with 5.
URIBE MAKES HISTORY IN PORTO
Also during this course, Colombian international Matheus Uribe made history at Porto by becoming his country’s most capped player for the club.
The 31-year-old midfielder surpassed Jackson Martínez’s record of 136 games last October, and currently has 148 appearances for the ‘dragons’
Uribe, who is celebrating his fourth year with Porto, thus continues the legacy of his homeland in the crest, which has already featured names such as Radamel Falcao, James Rodríguez, Luis Díaz or Fredy Guarín.
Meanwhile, the Uruguayan players took their revenge at Sporting de Portugal, with veteran Sebastián Coates appearing alongside youngsters Manuel Ugarte and Franco Israel.
Coates, 32, is the great reference in central defense and also the captain of the “lions”, which he has represented since 2015.
Also starting is 22-year-old midfielder Ugarte, recently awarded the ‘Revelation of the Year’ award by club Verdiblanco.
And goalkeeper Israel, also 22, is the replacement for Spain’s experienced Antonio Adán, but manager Rubén Amorim has given him minutes lately and sees him as a gamble for the future.
Miguel Conceicao
(c) EFE Agency
