Manchester United, City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal scouts watch Porto star Andre Silva
Premier League clubs monitor Portuguese striker who holds a record even Cristiano Ronaldo could not break
A MINI army of Premier League scouts were in attendance to watch Porto’s rising star Andre Silva on Sunday.
The striker was in action for the Portuguese giants as they drew 1-1 at home to Benfica.
Talent spotters from Manchester United and City were joined by representatives from Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal at the Estadio do Dragao to run the rule over the sought-after hitman.
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Scouts from England were not alone in watching the ace, with Juventus scouts also in the crowd.
Silva, who turned 21 at the weekend, has made an explosive start to this season to capture the attention of Europe’s big guns.
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The forward, who plays in the style of a typical No9, has notched seven goals domestically as well three in the Champions League for Porto.
It was at international level, however, that he shot to prominence. His electric start to the campaign was rewarded with a first international call-up from Portugal boss Fernando Santos.
Although he failed to hit the target after coming on his for his debut in September, a month later he scored his maiden goal for his country against Andorra before hitting a hat-trick past Faroe Islands.
That made the youngster a record-breaker as he became the youngest man to ever hit a treble for his country – an 88-year-old record that Cristiano Ronaldo nor Eusebio could manage.
His form has led to a clamouring of clubs joining his list of admirers, although the hotshot has been monitored by Arsenal for almost a year.
Silva was reportedly available for £22million in the summer but no club decided to take the plunge on the then inconsistent attacker.
Porto were smart however, and managed to tie the ace to a new five-year contract at the beginning of the season, taking his buy-out clause to £53m and a host of clubs kicking themselves for not moving quicker.
Silva looks likely to remain with the club until at least the end of the season, but with super agent Jorge Mendes now acting on his behalf, he looks set for a big money move next summer to one of Europe’s elite.