The front page of Jornal de Noticias’ sport section this weekend has Alex Grimaldo as the star, and a transfer as the motivation.
It’s stated Benfica want to sell Grimaldo in the January transfer window, with manager Rui Vitoria having run out of patience with the former Barcelona youngster.
Benfica’s reasoning is that ‘poor performances and constant injuries’ mean Vitoria wants to stop persisting and have the club sign other players for the left back position, and to do that they’d need to sell Grimaldo first.
Several English clubs have been linked with the fullback in recent years, but this time Tottenham are the only side mentioned. Along with Napoli, Spurs are presented as a possible winter destination for the 22 year old.
Tottenham would likely be happy with the player’s relatively low wages, and also the chance to make money in the long term. Grimaldo is a gamble given his injury issues, but the match up with Mauricio Pochettino could prove perfect for both.
With doubts over the future of Danny Rose, Tottenham have been linked with a string of fullbacks.
It must be noted Spurs don’t really scout Benfica, which could suggest they’re not hugely keen, especially given they do scout Porto, who have excellent fullback options in Ricardo Pereira and Alex Telles… but Jornal de Noticias are adamant Tottenham are interested.
Grimaldo has a buyout claude of €60m, and can be taken easily in January for €30m. We’d suggest that figure could come down, or at least be built up from around €20m with bonuses for performance and appearances.
