Southampton have been scouting Portugal for some time. It ramped up when former Benfica manager Ronald Koeman joined the club, the Dutchman using his knowledge of the Portuguese game to try and find reasonably priced talent.
That’s continued since Koeman left, and, now at Everton, the manager is getting his new club to look toward Portugal. Everton repeatedly watched Portuguese matches under David Moyes and his extensive scouting system, and whilst that faded slightly under Roberto Martinez, there’s no surprise in Koeman ramping it up again.
Both Everton and Southampton had someone watch Benfica beat Sporting 2-1 in the Lisbon derby on Sunday evening. Benfica’s Rafa Silva could be a conceivable target for either of the clubs, and the 23 year old was one of Benfica’s better performers.
Rafa Silva was linked to both Southampton and Everton before he joined Benfica last summer.
Salvio, also of Benfica, has also been linked with a move to England, with the 26 year old playing on the right.
Claude Puel’s Southampton have been linked to Sporting defender Ruben Semedo recently, and we covered claims at the end of November that the club were waiting for the right time to make an approach.
A Bola say that along with Everton and Southampton, the match was attended by several other Premier League sides, and others including AC Milan, Juventus and Atletico Madrid.
