Benfica’s chase for Manchester United fullback Matteo Darmian is starting to be taken seriously in Portugal, where three major outlets are reporting it today.
The biggest story comes from newspaper O Jogo. They claim the Red Devils are currently demanding €17m for the player, and the Eagles are working to pull this price down.
The outlet doesn’t say how much Benfica want to pay, but they will use the player’s contract, which expires next year, as an argument.
The Lisbon side are also said to be expecting agent Jorge Mendes to be an ‘ally’ in the negotiations. Even though he’s not Darmian’s representative, Mendes is frequently involved in transfers with Portuguese players and clubs.
Newspaper Record has a different take.They claim that Benfica actually want the player on a loan deal, and as they can’t afford his full wages, the club would have to ask Manchester United to pay for part of it.
That would definitely be a more Benfica thing to do, especially because they already have André Almeida for the right-back position, and now look for a competitor.
But if O Jogo have such a big story about the possible purchase, let’s see where it goes.
