Chelsea and Liverpool Eye £30m Move for Benfica Starlet Daniel Banjaqui

Chelsea and Liverpool are leading the race for Benfica right-back Daniel Banjaqui, and the 18-year-old could be available for an opening fee of around £30 million.

According to TEAMtalk, the two Premier League sides are among the busiest clubs watching the Lisbon-born defender after a standout year. 

Banjaqui has played a handful of senior games for Benfica, and he also helped Portugal win both the European Under-17 Championship and the Under-17 World Cup. Scouts see him as a quick, modern full-back who defends well and also gets forward.

Chelsea have stepped up their interest because of fitness worries over captain Reece James, and because they like signing top young talent. Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola is also said to be a big fan.

They will not have a free run, though. Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle, Tottenham and Brighton are also keeping tabs on him. Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are watching in Germany, along with Juventus, Inter Milan and Roma in Italy. In Spain, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad have all been linked.

Benfica are in a strong spot to negotiate. Banjaqui signed a new deal earlier this year that runs to 2031 and has a release clause of close to £45 million. 

TEAMtalk says the club might still talk at a lower base fee of €35m to €40m (£30m to £33m), but they would rather keep him so he can keep growing under head coach Marco Silva.

No formal talks have started. Clubs are only scouting and gathering information for now, and with his long contract and limited first-team minutes, a deal will not be easy. 

The report says the race is still at an early stage ahead of the coming transfer windows.