Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, and Benfica are among the clubs linked with 21-year-old Portuguese Lecce defender Tiago Gabriel. Lecce is not prepared to consider proposals that are not close to their valuation of around 30 million. The club's sporting director, Trinchera, stated that Gabriel has shown his potential and has attracted interest from several teams, particularly international and European ones. He confirmed there have been numerous expressions of interest but as of yet no negotiations, though he did not rule out that the circumstances for talks to begin could soon be met.
In the 2025/2026 Serie A season, Gabriel made 39 appearances and scored 2 goals. The defender, who joined Lecce in January 2025 and has a contract until June 2027, has 7 caps for Portugal U21 and a current market value of €15.00m, according to Transfermarkt. It is reported that Lecce rejected a €20 million offer from Benfica in July 2026 and a bid from Brentford worth €17 million plus €3 million in bonuses in January 2026.
