The Lisbon derby is happening on Sunday, and as Manchester United have been watching most of Benfica’s and Sporting’ games this season, the scouts will obviously be present at the Estádio da Luz.
It’s taken as fact by Portuguese newspaper Record that Jose Mourinho will have his spies at the match.
It will be a special occasion for Benfica right-back Nelson Semedo, who made his debut for the first team in a match against Sporting, when the Eagles faced their city rivals in August 2015 for the League Cup.
It’s been a big change for the 23-year-old since then, and according to Record, that’s why the player will have a different motivation this time.
The newspaper claims that Semedo knows he’ll be watched by Manchester United and Bayern Munich during the derby, as the clubs will be there especially to have their eyes on him.
The list of scouts for the games are factual, and as we’ve just said, Manchester United have been sending scouts to many. But to know who the emissaries are watching is more of an investigative thing, which has been changing a lot during the past weeks.
If you’re a Manchester United fan, you probably know that the club have been much linked to the Benfica defender Victor Lindelof. But, suddenly, things change and it’s time for Semedo to be in the spotlight.
Reports from the English media are taken in Portugal as a confirmation of their own claims. Record mentions the news about Joso Mourinho following Semedo so they can back up their info.
O Jogo also has something about it today, despite not talking about scouts. They’ve taken an article from ESPN FC to say Semedo is the perfect right-back for Manchester United.
Despite not being official, the Portuguese press insists that the player’s release clause has been raised from €60m to €80m. So maybe that’s why it’s a bigger story than Lindelof’s.
