It had been a while since the Portuguese press last got overexcited with a report from England, but here they go again.
‘Benfica prepare themselves for a new attempt for Samaris’, is a headline that can be found in O Jogo’s website this Wednesday.
The Greek midfielder had already been a target for Newcastle United in the summer transfer window, and due to a series of facts from the past few days, the outlet now believes that a new approach could be possible. But we can explain it.
On Sunday, Newcastle scouts were spotted at Benfica’s league match against Vitória de Setúbal. We saw this information on a Portuguese newspaper and covered the story, pointing out that one of the targets could be Samaris due to that past interest.
But other English outlets did the same afterwards, this time making sure to say that Samaris was indeed the target and Newcastle would go for him soon.
That was apparently enough for O Jogo to believe it, regardless of checking how reliable these reports were.
So it’s safe to say that it’s still too early to believe that the Magpies are really in for Samaris again. Especially because for Sunday’s game, the midfielder only played a few minutes and didn’t do anything impressive.
In any case, Samari seems as available as ever. Newcastle United just need to meet Benfica’s demands, which in the summer were said to be of €20m.
