Manchester United manager José Mourinho may be trying to get another man from Benfica in the winter market. But it may not be a player this time.
As reported by newspaper O Jogo on Tuesday, the boss is looking to bring Portuguese scout José Boto to England.
The outlet claims there’s a big chance that the official will be leaving Benfica, and the switch is likely to be done in January. Manchester United is named as the ‘very likely destination’.
Boto has a big job at the Lisbon side, where he’s responsible for monitoring players from Europe and integrating them to the club’s academy so they can be promoted to the first team in the future.
It’s no secret that Benfica do some great work finding unknown players, so the job done by Boto has had a big impact at the Lisbon side, both on the pitch and in the bank account.
Last month, it was reported in Brazil that José Mourinho lost one of his scouts to Real Madrid. But while no reports of a South American replacement have been made, the manager seems to be reinforcing the European team for now.
Benfica’s success at bringing through young talents, and then getting big fees for them, rests largely on players getting chances. Boto would find it much more difficult for such progression at Manchester United.