Manchester United and Liverpool are monitoring Porto midfielder Danilo Pereira for a possible summer move, as per reports.
Portuguese outlet A Bola have reported that Manchester United and Liverpool both had scouts in attendance during Porto’s 7-0 rout of Nacional at Estadio do Dragao on Saturday. The two fierce English rivals were both scouting Porto’s midfield dynamo Danilo Pereira, as per the report.
Danilo has blossomed into one of the most dependable midfielders in Portugal ever since joining Porto from Maritimo in 2015. A steady first season was followed by a superb Euro 2016, where the 25-year-old was a key figure for Portugal coach Fernando Santos.
2016/17 has seen Danilo improve by leaps and bounds, with the defensive midfielder being instrumental in Porto’s campaign on all three fronts, and has also been regarded by many as the side’s best player this season.
The Portugal international has played 32 games and has been one of the mainstays for Nuno Espirito Santo. Danilo has brought about a sense of composure with his calm presence in front of his defence, with his sharp reactions and no-nonsense attitude playing a big part in Porto boasting the best defensive record in the Portuguese top flight.
His development in recent seasons have now resulted in clubs taking notice of his undoubted talents, and several have had him monitored in recent months. Arsenal were reported to be the first English club to have sent representatives to watch Danilo before cooling off interest in the 25-year-old.
Now, Manchester United and Liverpool are also starting to show some concrete interest in the player, with both clubs sending scouts to Estadio do Dragao to watch him in action on Saturday. However, with Danilo enjoying a largely untroubled evening, they wouldn’t have seen many of his best abilities in person.
Both the clubs are eager to bring one midfield addition to their squad in the summer, and have been eyeing several players in recent weeks in order to identify the most viable option in the market. Manchester United are looking for a long-term successor for Michael Carrick who is in his twilight years at Old Trafford.
With Morgan Schneiderlin departing in January and with Bastian Schweinsteiger also likely to leave in the summer, Jose Mourinho has just Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera as his options in midfield, with Paul Pogba preferring a more advanced role with little defensive responsibilities.
Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has had to depend overly on captain Jordan Henderson to take up holding midfield duties this season. Emre Can has failed to make any sort of impact whenever Henderson has been available while Marko Grujic’s season has been beset by injuries.
With a midfielder seemingly being top priority for the fierce rivals, it looks likely that they could enter into battle off the field as well, with Danilo presenting himself as one of the most viable options for both.
It has also been reported previously that Porto could be offloading their best players in the summer to avoid a financial crisis at the Dragao, meaning Danilo could be available come June. It remains to be seen how things develop from here and if either decides to make a move for the player.