Once again, Middlesbrough had someone watch Benfica’s latest match. The Premier League club have been scouting Benfica for some months, and it would appear Aitor Karanka and his team have their eye on someone.
Benfica travelled to Porto on Sunday, in of the club’s toughest domestic tests of the season. It was a good match to test players in, and unsurprisingly there were scouts from clubs all around Europe, including some of the very biggest.
Portuguese newspaper A Bola has revealed that Middlesbrough were among the clubs to watch the 1-1 draw, after they also watched last week’s Champions League group game against Dinamo Kiev. Added to all the previous visits, it’s pretty clear there’s some sort of target.
Middlesbrough almost signed Benfica defender Victor Lindelof on loan in January, but he’s since progressed and is an important part of the team. A loan wouldn’t be available now and Middlesbrough would have to pay something close to his €30m buyout clause.
Even then, there’s interest from others too, and Lindelof may prefer staying at Benfica, and playing almost guaranteed Champions League football, rather than moving to Middlesbrough. Therefore, the target may well be completely new.
