Liverpool sending scouts to watch ‘superstar’ 20-year-old centre-back

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool are sending scouts to Benfica to check on the progress of two of their young stars.

The Reds have done big business with the Portuguese giants in the past, and are actually still paying them for Darwin Nunez.

But according to 90min, Nunez may not be the last signing Liverpool make from Benfica. They claim that the Reds have been sending talent-spotters to the Estadio da Luz to keep an eye on both Antonio Silva and Joao Neves.

It was only yesterday reports emerged that Benfica are actually expecting approaches for Neves in the near future. Liverpool were mentioned on that occasion, too.

As per 90min though, the Lisbon side won’t sanction the sale of either Neves or Silva in January.

As a result, they also report that Sporting centre-back Goncalo Inacio is seen as a ‘more viable’ option by potential suitors during the New Year window. Liverpool have been strongly linked with Inacio, however it’s claimed that his £52m release clause will still need to be met if he’s to leave next month.

Liverpool looking at Portuguese trio

It makes sense for Liverpool to be keeping an eye on all three of Inacio, Neves and Silva.

Playing at one of the big Portuguese sides is now often seen as a pre-cursor to getting a move to one of the bigger guns of Europe.

There’s plenty of talent at Benfica and Sporting as well as Porto. Liverpool well know that. It’s simply good practice to be aware of these players.

Having said that, we’re not sure we can see any of these three being legitimate targets for the Reds.

Neves is reportedly set to sign a new contract with a release clause of around £130m. Given what we know about Benfica’s strategy as a selling team, they’re unlikely to let him go for much less than that.

Silva meanwhile was described as a ‘potential superstar’ by Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher back in October 2022. He’s going to cost a bomb as well.

So, of the trio, Inacio is surely the most get-able. His release clause is relatively big too, but in comparison he can be seen as a bit of a snip.

Nevertheless, in terms of a January move, we simply think Liverpool are happy to hold what they have until the end of the season. It’s worth keeping an eye on all three players, but we’d be surprised to see any of them end up at Anfield.