It looks like Championship side Birmingham City have sent an emissary to do a scouting job in Portugal for a weekend. As reported by the local press, the Blues have been represented at three Liga NOS games in the past couple of days.
The first of them was the clash between Moreirense and Rio Ave, which was played on Friday, and the visit was covered by us the day after.
Then there was the clash between Porto and Aves on Saturday. Newspaper O Jogo reported that the St Andrew’s side were on the list of scouts who watched the game.
Porto won that match 4-0, and continue to chase Benfica in the race for the league title. Aves, who are middle of the table, don’t have much to play for at this stage.
Then on Sunday, the Birmingham City official stayed in the north of Portugal, where he watched Tondela play Santa Clara, according to newspaper A Bola.
Tondela got an important 3-1 win in their fight against relegation, and despite the loss, Santa Clara continue having an impressive season standing in the upper half of the table.
None of the reports say who Birmingham were watching, so we would only have to guess here. With Porto’s squad being full of stars, we find it unlikely that any of their players would be joining the Blues next season.
However, the Championship is seen as a good destination for most players from the Portuguese league, so targets from Moreirense, Rio Ave, Santa Clara, Tondela or Aves would certainly fancy a move to Birmingham in the next season.
The Blues haven’t been linked to any players from Portugal recently, so to have an idea of who they were watching, we have to wait and see if any new rumour will come up.
One thing is clear, the club are considering shopping in Portuguese football.
