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Bournemouth are reportedly ‘closing in’ on a transfer for Benfica’s Antonio Silva.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL EMPIRE OF THE KOP APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYFabrizio Romano noted on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday morning that the Cherries have secured an agreement on personal terms with the 22-year-old.This comes after the highly-rated centre-back rejected the Portuguese outfit’s contract extension offer.Bournemouth set to sign Antonio Silva this summerThe Italian transfer news exit additionally confirmed that the deal is unlikely to be finalised this week. 🚨🍒 Bournemouth are closing in on Antonio Silva deal, here we go soon!
Agreement on personal terms with the centre back and very close also club to club with Benfica. Nothing will be signed this week as Benfica will only allow exit to #AFCB later on. pic.twitter.com/pBqvTwhFhf — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 15, 2026While we can appreciate the logic behind potentially opting to sign a more experienced centre-half this summer (to complement young talents in Giovanni Leoni and Jeremie Jacquet), this one does rankle a little.Want more Empire of the Kop coverage?
Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustEspecially so after watching Brighton and Hove Albion move to secure another talented prospect in Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham for a relatively paltry £46m.Liverpool could really do with another top-notch centre-back this summer, but it seems we’re dragging our feet waiting to see if Bradley Barcola is gettable – and where that then leaves the rest of the budget.Liverpool seem to be waiting for a dealWe appreciate £46m feels like a lot for a 19-year-old defender with one great season on loan in the Bundesliga.Although, if reports around Antonio Silva’s fee are accurate – around €20m [£17m], according to Football Place – we’re struggling to fathom why Liverpool wouldn’t take a punt.To be fair to our recruitment, it’s entirely possible that we don’t rate the player as highly as Bournemouth, which could be partly due to reasonable concerns over the level of protection he’ll give us in the air.But it’s the kind of price tag that would still allow us to pursue a high-value target like Bradley Barcola with confidence.Perhaps if a more experienced option becomes available for a similar asking price, we’ll move to take advantage.But until that point, it seems we’re holding out to evaluate the state of the budget after a potentially record-breaking transfer move.
