The Premier League beckons for Benfica’s Greek midfielder Andreas Samaris with Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion linked in the summer.
Reports linking Andreas Samaris with a move to the Premier League are set to appear again with the January transfer window swinging open.
The Greek international midfielder was heavily tipped to leave Benfica for Newcastle United over the summer, with the Mirror claiming that talks had even been held about a potential £17.5 million move to St. James’ Park.
Budgetary concerns, however, meant the Magpies were forced to drop their interest. But with Benfica now willing to consider a reduced offer this month, Samaris could be within Newcastle’s grasp this time around.
And according to Diario de Noticias (1st January, page 28) it appears that the former Olympiakos ace is closer than ever to a move to the Premier League. Because the report states that Samaris has an offer from an unnamed club in England while Benfica are prepared to sell a player who has started just one league game in 2017/18.
Newcastle will likely have competition for Samaris despite his reduced game time in recent months, however.
A Bola stated that West Brom were prepared to shatter their transfer record to bring Samaris to The Hawthorns, only for Benfica to call off the deal due to concerns about the fitness of Lubomir Fejsa, the tenacious ankle-biter who has taken his place in the starting XI.
Financial Fair Play restrictions mean the Baggies do not have unlimited funds at their disposal, but Benfica’s willingness to listen to lower offers for Samaris means he could be in the club’s sights once more.
For now, however, the identity of that unnamed English club remains a mystery.
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