Naples looks at Richard Ríos as a reinforcement for the next season.

Nápoles sets its sights on Richard Ríos: Benfica on high alert!

The transfer market is heating up, and the name of Richard Ríos, the talented midfielder from Benfica, has now appeared on the radar of powerful Napoli for the upcoming season. The news was reported by renowned Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, who revealed that Giovanni Manna, the sports director of the Neapolitan club, is strongly interested in the 25-year-old player.

Richard Ríos, who joined Benfica last summer for an impressive 27 million euros, is currently enjoying his best form wearing the Eagles’ jersey, following a season start marked by some inconsistency. Despite this, the Italian club’s officials have yet to make any formal offer, limiting themselves to exploratory contacts to assess the conditions for a potential transfer.

So far, the midfielder, a former Palmeiras player, has made 40 appearances for the Eagles, scoring five goals and providing five assists. Although he was the most high-profile signing of the last transfer window, the coach José Mourinho did not hide his doubts about Ríos’s fit within the team, stating after the classic match against FC Porto, which ended in a 2-2 draw: “Ríos and Barrenechea are not the same as Aursnes and Leandro Barreiro.” This statement explains the Argentine’s absence from the starting lineup in the match against Casa Pia and reveals that his integration into the tactical system is not proving to be as easy as expected.

To complicate matters further, Ríos missed three important training sessions after returning from international duty, having been hospitalized nine days ago following a match for Colombia, from which he has not yet fully recovered.

Amid these developments, Richard Ríos’s name is gaining traction as a potential departure, at a time when Benfica, while not discussing Mourinho’s succession, is already looking at other options in the market that could strengthen the squad.

This situation places the young midfielder in the spotlight, with the possibility of moving to Italy gaining more momentum, while Benfica will have to decide whether to continue investing in him or accept negotiations for one of their most valuable assets.

The outcome of this impasse could change the future of Benfica and the player himself, in a market that is bubbling with potential surprises in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for all updates on this saga that is shaking up European football.

This article first appeared on [Apito Final](https://apitofinal.pt/).