As reported by Portuguese newspaper O Jogo today, Newcastle United sent scouts to watch Benfica play CSKA in the Champions League group stage last night.
Although the newspaper doesn’t mention who Newcastke were watching, it’s curious that the club have been recently linked to two players involved in the game.
During the summer, there were multiple reports claiming Newcastle United were in talks to sign Andreas Samaris, and had even submitted an offer.
In the end, Newcastle and Benfica couldn’t agree on a fee, so Samaris stayed where he is. With a contract ending in June 2019, Samaris’ price is only going to fall without a renewal.
The midfielder didn’t get off the bench yesterday, but Newcastle will know that given he’s a squad player, they have to take a chance to watch him.
Olanare played last night. However, the striker didn’t have a brilliant game, with newspaper O Jogo even calling him ‘null’ in attack.
Newcastle saw an enjoyable game, with Benfica losing 2-1 at home, which was quite a surprising result.
And if there were any positives to take, they certainly came from the Russian club.
