Newcastle United had a representative at Friday evening’s match between Benfica and Sporting.
Sporting, who were the away club in the big Lisbon derby, won the match 3-1 and there were multiple clubs in attendance. For the likes of Newcastle, who won’t be facing either side in European competition competition in the near future, the trip will have been purely transfer related.
Portuguese clubs often release scouting lists, which allows everyone to get an idea of who is building up interest.
Pablo Sarabia, who is on loan from PSG, opened the scoring for Sporting, followed by goals from Paulinho and Matheus Nunes. Pizzi managed to get a consolation goal for Benfica, which won’t do much to soothe the anger of the club’s fans after the result.
Interestingly, Newcastle were linked with the midfielder in the summer so it’d be no surprise if they’re keeping an eye on him ahead of a potential transfer swoop.