Crystal Palace’s hopes of signing Tomás Araújo from Benfica appear to be over as manager Roger Schmidt has ruled out an exit.
O Jogo cover comments from the Benfica boss today in which he has dismissed any possible move for the defender.
Reports over the last week have linked Crystal Palace with a move for the defender as they look to cover departures from their squad.
Joachim Andersen is set to be announced by Fulham after they saw a bid accepted while Marc Guehi remains a target for Newcastle United, who have already seen two bids rejected.
Losing just one of the pair would be a major blow for Palace, with them the undisputed starters in the heart of Crystal Palace’s defence and impressing like many in the squad under the Austrian last season.
They are now scouring the market for replacements and Araújo had been named as one of the options being looked at.
He is not considered a key player at the Portuguese club and that had seemingly opened up the possibility of a move, but Schmidt has dismissed that entirely.
“Tomás Araújo will stay, 100%,” he said.
“He was very good last season. He already had some minutes. We want him to have more minutes this season. He has been doing very well, he has been a starter, he has a lot of talent.
“It’s important for him to play for Benfica and not leave for another club. We have a lot of quality central defenders, let’s see what happens.”
