Newcastle United watched FC Porto once again on Saturday night, in a 1-0 victory over SC Braga, report A Bola. It’s not the only time Newcastle have watched Porto in recent weeks, with the club’s name popping up on scouting reports routinely.
A little digging would suggest the man could well be Hector Herrera. The 26 year old Mexican midfielder seems to be a long time Benitez target.
When the Spanish manager took over at Napoli, one of the first players the Italian media said Benitez wanted was Herrera.
Those links continued throughout Benitez’s time with the club, and Napoli sent scouts to Porto matches. There were claims of bids more than once and at times a transfer looked likely, but Napoli wouldn’t pay enough.
Now at Newcastle United and very well placed for promotion, Benitez is planning ahead and therefore it’s no surprise to see the club’s scouts popping up at Porto.
Herrera has a release clause of €40m and Newcastle United probably wouldn’t want to go over €25m.
If Herrera is the man Benitez wants then Newcastle could, assuming they secure promotion, build a deal for the summer which allowed Porto to get an initial fee and then extra bonuses relating to clauses. Then the Portuguese club could parade a big headline figure, as is often the case.
