West Ham United officials have once again watched some Portuguese football this weekend, after travelling to the north of the country and watching Benfica beat Moreirense 1-0.
The Portuguese league leaders didn’t have an easy job this time, and only managed to break into Moreirense’s defence with a good header from Konstantinos Mitroglou.
Mitroglou’s Fulham failure has stained his reputation as far as English football is concerned, but his form this season is excellent and it would be no surprise if West Ham, or someone else, give him another go.
Apart from the Greek striker, the West Ham officials also saw a very good display from defender Victor Lindelof and midfielder Ljubomir Fejsa, who were solid stopping Moreirense’s attacks.
On Moreirense’s side, the main man was Ousmane Dramé. The winger was a constant threat for Benfica, putting teammates in scoring positions and even beating goalkeeper Ederson, but then watching Lindelof clear what seemed a certain goal.
From the players who stood out yesterday, we’d say Mitroglou, Fejsa and Dramé are all possible targets for Slaven Bilic at West Ham.
Mitroglou and Fejsa would obviously be a lot more expensive than the Frenchman, as Benfica think of the Premier League as a gold mine.
In other conditions, even Lindelof could be a reasonable player for the Hammers to try for. But his links with Manchester United from the past two transfer windows have become a media circus, which only raised his price. It’s unlikely that he leaves for less than €30m now.
