Anyone attending a match in the Portuguese top flight this weekend may well have seen representatives from Liverpool present.
Correio da Manhã claimed in recent days (via Sport Witness) that scouts from Merseyside will be at tonight’s clash between Sporting Lisbon and Benfica to take a close look at Manuel Ugarte, who’s been strongly linked with the Reds of late.
In addition to that trip, Sunday’s edition of O Jogo reported (via Sport Witness) that Jurgen Klopp’s side also had an official at another derby game between Famalicao and Porto yesterday.
The report didn’t specify any particular player at whom the Liverpool delegation were looking, although one man will inevitably have caught their attention.
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Porto’s 4-2 win was the Mehdi Taremi show, with the Iran striker scoring all of his team’s goals as they secured the three points, which leaves Benfica needing to beat Sporting if they’re to be crowned champions tonight before the Primeira Liga concludes next Sunday.
However, with the Reds far likelier to be looking at midfielders and defenders than another forward this summer, the 30-year-old mightn’t be the focus of the reports coming back to Merseyside.
Judging by statistics from Sofascore, the next most eye-catching player against Famalicao was Otavio, the attacking midfielder who claimed one assist, posted a 100% dribble success rate, won three tackles, came out on top in eight duels, played three key passes and drew three fouls.
His overall tally for the season is five goals and 13 assists from 42 games, operating on both flanks and also through the middle in no fewer than nine different positions (Transfermarkt).
It could be interesting to see if Liverpool become linked with any Porto players in the coming days and weeks, having already struck success with the signing of Luis Diaz from the Estadio Dragao in January 2022.