On December 21st, journalist Sacha Tavolieri reported Crystal Palace have held talks with Jan-Niklas Beste and Benfica as they are looking to add him to their squad in the winter market.
Two days later, we covered claims from Portugal that Benfica have closed the door on the 26-year-old’s exit in January.
Crystal Palace are still keen on the left-back, who has mainly operated as a left winger this season.
Friday’s edition of A Bola covers Crystal Palace’s interest in the German and mentions the Lisbon club’s stance on him.
Beste has settled for a back up role this season and made five league starts and none in the Champions League. That hasn’t stopped him from attracting interest from the Premier League side, Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig.
The Bundesliga trio are evaluating the versatile player, while the London club have made contact to sign him. Bruno Lage’s side have no intention of parting ways with Beste, who joined them last summer and signed a deal until 2029.
A Bola claim Beste has a €50m release clause and Benfica will need a ‘truly irresistable’ offer to sanction his sale in January. There’s no indication Oliver Glasner’s side are ready to meet the Portuguese club’s request, which in this case would be €50m.
We’d question, and in reality Benfica would likely accept an awful lot less, indeed it would be no surprise if €15m ended up being enough.
