Official: Benfica sign former Sporting CP striker Yannick Djalo

The Portugal international has put an end to several months of speculation regarding his future, putting pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Eagles

31 Jan 2012 08:42:00

By Luis Mira

More On :  Benfica, Sporting CP, Yannick Djaló
UEFA Champions League,Yannick Djalo,Sporting Lisbon,(Getty Images)


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Benfica have announced they have signed ex-Sporting CP striker Yannick Djalo on a free transfer.

The 25-year-old attacker has penned a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Estadio da Luz after being linked with Aston Villa and Porto in recent times.

Djalo joined Nice on the last day of the summer transfer window, but Fifa rejected the move as it was registered after midnight, when the market was already closed.

The Ligue 1 club then decided to call off the deal and Djalo found himself in limbo, as he was ejected from the Sporting CP squad by coach Domingos Paciencia.

The club issued a statement on Monday saying they still owned the 25-year-old's economic rights, but just hours later the forward called a press conference to announce he was a free agent.

Djalo is the first January signing of the Estadio da Luz outfit, who are five points clear at the top of the league and will take on Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League Round of 16.

With the January window coming to a close on Tuesday, Goal.com is your address for all the latest activity on the transfer market. Stay up to date of what's happening in all the big leagues in our all-day LIVE! for the climax of the transfer window, and read up on what else we have to offer here

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Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 2-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.

Hosted by Joe Doyle
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."

"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."

Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
19:35 BST
And another point from today: Eden Hazard wasn't great. Don't think you can judge him on one performance though. What do you think? Is it just a case of too much hype around the Chelsea-bound Belgian?
19:32 BST
We're getting plenty of people saying it was boring. PLENTY. But Spain scored seven goals in eight games at the World Cup and I didn't hear too many of their fans complaining. Or as Fran Stinchcombe points out on Twitter: "If we had lost but played free flowing attacking football would these people still have moaned?"
19:24 BST
No, no, no. I'll have none of that Emile Heskey shouting anymore! Hello, it's me, it's me, it's that D-O-Y-L-E. Yes, I'm Joe Doyle, and I'll be here for all the reaction to that England game. First things first, how did everyone see that game? Good performance? A touch boring? Let me know on Twitter.
19:17 BST
Right, that’s me, Danny Hart, done. Joe Doyle is itching to retain his LIVE! crown for the evening. England reaction, Netherlands-Northern Ireland updates and much, much more - Doyle will be across it all. England are gonna win the Euros! And remember: EMILE HESKEY. Cheerio!
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