Last week, we covered a story from Portugal which claimed Benfica will only buy Santiago Ascacíbar from Estudiantes de La Plata in case they sell Andreas Samaris.
But O Jogo now make it sound like the other way around, Ascacíbar is arriving, and then Samaris will go. And that seems to be good news for Newcastle United.
But if you take a look at the situation as a whole, it’s in Newcastle’s favour. Especially because they are the only club linked to Samaris right now.
If Benfica do sign Ascacíbar, which seems like it’s happening, they will have too many midfielders and will certainly want to get rid of a salary.
They paid €10m to sign Samaris from Olympiacos three years ago, and with the player now being 28, there’s no reason why his price should double.
So Benfica may be demanding €20m from Newcastle now, but if in two weeks they have another midfielder and no new pretenders for Samaris, we’re pretty sure a deal can be found for less.
