THE Benfica will be on the verge of reaching an agreement with Samuel Soares and Samuel Dahl with a view to renewing their respective contracts, thus recognizing the preponderance they have acquired in Marco Silva’s plans, since the start of the new 2026/27 sports season.
The news is announced this Tuesday by the newspaper O Jogo, which writes that the contracts of both players should be extended (at least) until June 2031, making this process accompanied by a natural salary increase, in line with the status of undisputed starters acquired in the meantime.
Samuel Soares, remember, arrived at Benfica in the summer of 2013, from União Recreativa e Desportiva de Tires, having passed through the various training levels, before being integrated into the main team, first, as a substitute, and then, as option number 1.
The total affirmation took place this season, in which the hitherto incumbent, Anatoliy Trubin, took over (who may even leave, in the next winter transfer market), which even earned him his debut on the squad list for Portugal’s main team, which coincided with Jorge Jesus’ debut in the role.
Samuel Dahl, for his part, spent time at Vasteras, AIK, Orebro, Djurgarden and AS Roma, before, in January 2025, arriving at Benfica, first, as a loanee, and then, permanently, in exchange for a fee of around nine million euros, as a result of the good performances presented.
In both cases, the processes will be at an advanced stage, so the prospect is that the renewal of the goalkeeper and left-back will become official in the course of the next few weeks, thus putting an end to the uncertainty about the future of both.
The numbers that apply to Samuel Dahl and Samuel Soares
Samuel Dahl is, at the moment, the most used player in the entire Benfica squad, having already played 1,219 minutes in his legs, across 15 official matches, in all competitions, having, in between, scored a goal (in the 2-0 victory over Vitória SC, at Estádio da Luz, on October 11th).
The only game in which the Swedish international was not used was the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League, against Hearts (on August 13, at Tynecastle Park), when Marco Silva took advantage of the ‘momentum’ of the previous match (6-1 defeat) to ‘rotate’ the team, betting, instead, on the young José Neto.
Samuel Soares, for his part, started the season sitting on the substitutes’ bench, having claimed the starting spot, precisely, in the first clash with the Scots, where he showed such positive signs that José Mourinho’s successor chose to relegate Anatoliy Trubin to the status of substitute.
From then on, the Ukrainian international’s only opportunities came in the league phase of the Europa League, during the triumphs achieved against AC Milan (at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, 0-2) and Celtic (at the Estádio da Luz, 4-1).
