Tottenham Hotspur were reportedly one of several Premier League clubs that had their scouts in attendance at a huge match in Europe before the international break
Tottenham Hotspur scouts reportedly watched Porto beat Benfica on Sunday in O Classico. Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Roma are also said to have had onlookers at the Estadio do Dragao.
Liga Portugal champions Porto won 3-1 against a ten-man Benfica, who had former Spurs loanee Clement Lenglet sent off ten minutes before half-time for appearing to slap opposition striker Andre Silva. The hosts were in front at the time, thanks to Gabri Veiga's opener. Alexander Bah equalised early in the second half, but Victor Froholdt soon struck back, before Hwang In-beom made it three.
The Portuguese sports newspapers A Bola and Record list several teams that had scouts in attendance. The former also claimed that Spurs had eyes on the two clubs in their mid-January quarter-final of the Taca de Portugal.
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Porto won on that occasion, too, with former Southampton and Villa defender Jan Bednarek scoring that game's only goal. They were apparently in position for late April's semi-final second leg, too, which finished 0-0, meaning their opponents, Sporting, progressed after winning the first leg 1-0 at home.
Spurs are, therefore, no strangers to scouting in Portugal. However, this does not necessarily translate into transfers.
Pedro Porro is the last player to sign directly from a Primera Liga club. He joined the club from Sporting initially on loan in January 2023 with an obligation to buy at the end of that season.
Spurs, however, have done business with Portuguese teams since then. Most recently, Porto loaned Souza on the transfer deadline day of this summer window.
The left-back's presence on the team sheet could also explain why Spurs scouts were at the match. However, the Brazilian has yet to play for his new club, remaining an unused substitute in all three matches since joining them.
There were also links to several players on both sides during the summer. Multiple sources credited Spurs with an interest in Andreas Schjelderup, who came on as a substitute for the final quarter of an hour.
Anatoliy Trubin from the visitors is a goalkeeper whom the club have apparently been keen on. However, the Ukraine international has not played in any of their first seven league matches; academy graduate Samuel Soares is preferred in his place.
Vangelis Pavlidis is another player said to be under consideration. The striker did not score, but has 14 goals in 13 games this season.