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Early this morning, Sky Sports revealed that Sheffield United, as well as Luton Town, lead the clubs who are interested in signing Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

The former Arsenal player is now a free agent, and according to the story, is also drawing attention from foreign clubs such as Benfica, Werder Bremen, Galatasaray, Trabzonspor and three Saudi Arabian sides.

Now it seems like the Portuguese champions are actually out of that race, and that could be good news for Sheffield United.

Record feature a story claiming that despite the recent links between Benfica and Maitland-Niles, he’s actually not in the Eagles’ plans.

A source close to the player told Record that the Lisbon side seemed like an interesting destination due to their spot in the Champions League, but the player has other options which are more attractive from a financial point of view.

It’s claimed that Benfica didn’t even make an official proposal, as Maitland-Niles’ requests always seemed like too much for them.

It’s known that Portuguese clubs can’t pay anything close to what Premier League sides do, so that’s one less competitor that Sheffield United should have in this race.

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