Inter and Chelsea are the two teams reportedly pushing to sign Brazilian goalkeeper Bento ahead of the summer transfer window, but who is the 24-year-old shot-stopper and what has he achieved in his career thus far?
Who is Bento?
Bento’s rise to the top of Brazilian football is one that came with a slight touch of luck. He made his first-team debut for Athletico Paranaense as a 21-year-old back in November of 2021, featuring in the Copa Libertadores in place of the more experienced Santos and Jandrei, both of whom had contracted COVID-19.
Bento would then go on to make his league debut a few days later, a 3-0 loss against Brazilian giants Palmeiras.
Born in Curitiba, Bento has not yet played club football outside of his home nation. Enticingly for European clubs, however, it is understood that he holds an Italian passport, which would make a cross-continent move slightly easier than for some of his other compatriots.
Bento has to wait until 2022 to become Athletico Paranaense’s first choice, following the departure of long-term no.1 Santos to Flamengo. Since then, he has gone on to amass 107 league starts in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.
Standing at 6’4 in height, Bento has drawn comparisons to former Juventus goalkeeper and current Bournemouth captain Neto, not only for his physical stature, but also for his Italian connections and the fact that they both spent the early years of their careers at Athlteico Paranaense.
Bento’s impressive form at club level over the last 12 months have resulted in several call-ups to the Brazil national team squad. The first came from former interim coach Fernando Diniz in August 2023.
Current Brazil hea coach Dorival Junior opted to hand Bento his debut against England at Wembley during last week’s international break. He went on to keep a clean sheet on English turf, as the highly-rated Endrick snatched the three points after 80 minutes.
Dorival then stuck with Bento for the 3-3 draw against Spain at the Santiago Bernabeu a few days later.
Still at just 24 years of age, Bento is becoming an increasingly attractive option for Inter, who are on the lookout for a long-term heir to Yann Sommer’s throne, however, Chelsea’s interest may have thrown a spanner into the works for the Nerazzurri according to this week’s reports.