Antonio Silva's move to Bournemouth is not being held up by the fee. It is on pause because Benfica want to keep all players until their Europa League play-off against St. Gallen on July 23. Fabrizio Romano said that from the end of this week onwards, the paperwork should be ready to complete the deal.

Benfica's European deadline

The two versions of the story are close, but they are not the same. One view has Silva effectively done and waiting for the final signatures. The other says the switch is delayed until Benfica clear their European date. On the evidence available here, the delay is the sharper reading, because Benfica are retaining all players for the qualifier and Silva's Bournemouth move is currently on hold pending July 23.

Bournemouth's interest still fits the sort of push you would expect from a club that finished 6th in the Premier League on 57 points. That is a strong platform, and it explains why Silva is being targeted, but the move itself is still tied to Benfica's schedule rather than Bournemouth's urgency.

Leeds and Fulham move on different tracks

Leeds have already finished their business for Tarik Muharemović, with a deal worth £34.1m and a five-year contract. Muharemovic has only 3 Leeds appearances in 2026, covering 272 minutes, so this is a serious outlay on a player the club have seen only in a small but recent sample. His own words are blunt enough: "I will give everything for this club. I will give everything, every game. I just want to win. I hate to lose and I will fight for every ball, even if it is my head or my feet, I am going."

The early output has been steady too. Muharemovic's average rating in 2026 is 6.9, which is not the sort of number that screams headline grabber, but it does fit a defender Leeds seem happy to back early.

Elsewhere, Alvaro Arbeloa has asked Fulham to explore the signing of César Palacios from Real Madrid. Real Madrid sit 2nd in La Liga and Palacios has only 7 first-team appearances, so this is a young player being courted rather than a senior starter being prised loose. Porto and Osasuna have also made inquiries, while the move to Como that looked close at the end of May broke down.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →