Everton were among the teams to send scouts to watch Benfica and RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, with the likes of Leeds, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Chelsea all joining the Toffees in Portugal.
As reported by Scouts in Attendance, there were as many as 10 Premier League clubs watching the Champions League clash.
Add to that, the likes of Juventus, Dortmund, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, there was plenty of high-profile interest in the game. So, who exactly did Everton have their eyes on?
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There’s no official word on who any of the teams in question were watching, but we can try and look at some clues to get a good idea.
Interestingly this is not the first time Everton have watched Benfica recently. Only back in late August, the Liverpool Echo covered a story about the club’s scouts being at their meeting with Porto.
Ruben Dias, Alex Grimaldo, Florentino Luis and Haris Seferovic were mentioned as potential candidates then.
Sport Witness go one further and cite a report from Portuguese outlet Record, who claim that young defender Nuno Tavares could have been on their radar.
Given that Lucas Digne has Everton’s left-back spot nailed down, a move for Grimaldo would surely be considered unlikely.
Dias is very highly rated and would be a shrewd signing, having previously been linked with some big European outfits.
Central midfielder Luis is also very highly thought of, but at the age of 20 is one for the future.
It’s interesting to see Everton taking such a keen interest in Benfica. Silva will feel it’s a market that he’ll know well – so perhaps there is someone there that takes his fancy for either the January or summer window.
