Benfica coach Marco Silva is planning the team's roster for the 2026/27 season and Gustavo Varela is one of the new prospects. The young forward excelled at Gil Vicente and will be evaluated by the new coach. The 21-year-old forward, who has been on loan at Gil Vicente, has impressed with seven goals and three assists, catching the attention of Luis Freire. The competition is intense at Benfica, where players like Vangelis Pavlidis and Franjo Ivanovic are also vying for a spot. Varela's performance will be strictly evaluated. He was loaned to Gil Vicente and performed well. He has been ordered to report to the preseason and will be evaluated by the new coach. Although in the shadows, Marco Silva is already outlining the Benfica roster for the 2026/27 season, making important decisions about the preseason and wanting to count on Gustavo Varela. The young forward, 21 years old, a product of the Benfica Campus since 2021, was loaned by the reds to Gil Vicente last season and seized the opportunity, being one of the highlights of the good season of Cesar Peixoto's team, and Marco Silva will give him the chance to show himself in the preseason of the eagles, which starts next day 25. In 33 games with the gilistas, he scored seven goals and made three assists and Gustavo Varela's path also caught the attention of Luis Freire, the under-21 selector. The forward was part of the start of the qualification for the European category and, in five games, scored three goals with his chest, one against Bulgaria and two against Gibraltar, in the double round of October. The call-up of Gustavo Varela for the preseason work is not a guarantee, of course, that he will be part of the team that will attack the season. The competition is strong (Vangelis Pavlidis, Franjo Ivanovic and also Anisio Cabral) and everything will depend on the analysis and evaluation of Marco Silva to the performance of the forward, who has already made his debut with the main team of the reds, in 2023/24, with Roger Schmidt in the last game of that season - he entered at 75 minutes for Tengstedt. Gustavo Varela has a contract with Benfica until 2028.