Portimonense have signed four new players over the past week although it remains to be seen if any of them have the experience or class to compete successfully in the top flight.
Most promising appears to be 24-year-old Portuguese winger Rui Gomes who has arrived from second division Covilhã. The remaining trio, all 22-year-olds, comprises Sporting Lisbon U-23 left back Gonçalo Costa, Ivorian right back Zie Ouattara, formerly with the Vitória de Guimarães U-23s, and Brazilian centre forward Yago Cariello, the scorer of 12 goals last season for third division União Santarém.
Meanwhile, former sometime Portimonense captains Jadson and Lucas Possignolo met when Shandong and Zhejiang met on the opening day of the Chinese Super League season with the first-mentioned running out the 1-0 winners.
Looking ahead, Benfica have finalised their pre-season plans, notably taking on Nice (July 15) and Fulham (July 17) at the Stadium of the Algarve before facing Newcastle on July 26 in the context of the Eusébio Cup back in Lisbon.
By SKIP BANDELE
