Fulham have seen their opening offer for Benfica defender Morato rejected, according to reports this afternoon.
Brazilian journalist Bruno Andrade revealed that the Whites had tabled a bid of around £8.6m for the Brazilian-born centre back, who moved from Sao Paulo to the Eagles in September 2019. Benfica immediately rejected Fulham’s offer and insisted that the 22 year-old was not for sale – pointing the Premier League side to Morato’s release clause of £43m. Given that Benfica are unwilling to negotiate over a proposed deal, it remains to be seen whether the Whites will return with an increased offer or pursue other targets instead.
Morato, who helped Roger Schmidt’s side win their first Portuguese title in four years last term, has made 38 first-team appearances for the Lisbon giants and scored two goals. He was named the Primeira Liga’s defender of the month last August and is widely regarded as one of the most promising young defenders in Portuguese football. Silva had clearly hoped that he could lure him to Craven Cottage as part of Fulham’s defensive rebuild this summer – but Benfica have so far refused to contemplate letting Morato leave.
