Moncef Zekri, a young defender of only 17 years, ended up signing for Sporting CP after being offered to Benfica by Mechelen. The encarnada structure opted not to give an answer to the proposal presented by the Belgian club, allowing the footballer to head to the rival of the Portuguese capital.
The decision of Marco Silva, then coach of Benfica, was determinant for the young fullback not to integrate the encarnada squad. The direction led by Rui Costa analyzed the profile of the player but decided not to advance for his acquisition, preferring to focus on options of greater maturity for the demands of the first team.
At Sporting, Moncef Zekri arrived to occupy the spot left vacant by Ricardo Mangas, becoming the solution found by the green and white team to fill the vacancy on the left side of defense. The 17-year-old player came from Mechelen to reinforce the defensive sector of the Lions.
