Rangers have already been linked with Benfica-owned centre-back Fabio Cardoso and Dalcio and Daniel Candeias could join him at Ibrox.
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
Pedro Caixinha’s continental recruitment drive appears to be ramping up a notch with not one, not two but three Benfica players reportedly on their way to Rangers.
Not that they are first-team stars at the Portuguese champions, however.
The Daily Record claimed recently that Vitoria Setubal boss Jose Couceiro admitted Rangers were interested in bringing 23-year-old centre-back Fabio Cardoso to Ibrox once his loan spell from Benfica ended.
The £1 million-rated defender has represented Portugal at youth level and appears to be the kind of no-nonsense enforcer the Scottish giants are currently lacking.
Risky business
And O Jogo report that Cardoso may be joined at Ibrox by two fellow Benfica graduates. 21-year-old forward Dalcio is supposedly on their radar despite a less than prolific record in the club’s B-team.
As it stands, Dalcio has not played a minute of league action for Benfica’s senior side, suggesting that he is very much one for the future.
At least Daniel Candeias has some first-team football under his belt. The 29-year-old winger is something of a forgotten man at the Estadio da Luz, arriving in 2014 after turning heads with Nacional but failing to make a single appearance for The Eagles in three years.
Candeias (right) has also played for FC Porto
Instead, Candeias has had loan spells in Germany, Spain, France and Turkey with Nurnburg, Granada, Metz and, most recently, Alanyaspor.
The hard-working attacker can play in any position behind the striker and his composure in possession and ability to thread the ball through the eye of the needle should offer some much-needed cutting edge at Ibrox.
Candeias scored four and assisted four in the Turkish Super Lig last season.
The trio are hardly household names but Rangers must trust in Caixinha’s judgement.
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