Bruno Lage has a star with extra motivation for Fenerbahçe v Benfica | OneFootball

Bruno Lage, Benfica's coach, will lead the red team in a very important game for the 2025/26 season

Aug 20, 2025 | 12:41 |

Bruno Lage knows that Kerem Akturkoglu is extra motivated for the Benfica match against Fenerbahçe. The Turk has been one of the most talked-about names at the Clube da Luz, regarding the transfer market, and his departure seems to be getting closer.

The information is advanced by Jornal Record. Benfica will play this Wednesday, August 20, the first leg of the Champions League play-off, at 8:00 p.m., against Fenerbahçe. Among the entire squad, a protagonist emerges: Kerem Akturkoglu, the winger who is being negotiated by the two emblems that will face each other in Istanbul.

Despite being close to a change to Fenerbahçe, Akturkoglu wants to play very much. The red winger knows the Sukru Saracoglu stadium well from his time at Galatasaray, and has a great desire to show himself at a good level on his return to his homeland, Turkey.

The national press explains that recent developments have given Akturkoglu extra motivation - remember that the negotiation for the player has been marked by several advances and setbacks. Last Tuesday, when Benfica first took to the pitch in Turkey, the winger was seen giving some indications to Dedic about the stadium, in a sign of his willingness to help the team.

Otherwise, Bruno Lage was questioned about the topic in a press conference, where he said the following: "You know that there is a proposal and, until the end of the market, whether Aktürkoglu or another player can receive proposals. We have to keep working to build the squad we want. But our focus, and also the player's, is to help Benfica tomorrow [today]".

Check out some of Akturkoglu's best moments at Benfica:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.