Saturday, 12th October, 2013
Liverpool have identified Benfica midfielder Nemanja Matic a January transfer window target, according to Portuguese sports daily O Jogo.
Matic moved to the Estadio da Luz in 2011, as part of the deal which took David Luiz from Benfica to Chelsea.
Able to enjoy the first team football at Benfica he lacked at Chelsea, Matic has progressed quickly, so much so that his former club have been linked with wanting to bring him back to Stamford Bridge.
Word of that even reached Matic's ears in the summer, when he explained that: "To be honest I want to stay in Lisbon for another year. But of course, if someone like Jose Mourinho wants to bring me back to London, that would be a chance to prove that I can play in the Premier League."
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While Mourinho did not move for Matic this summer, he has continued monitoring the Serbian and paid a special visit to the Serbia vs Croatia clash in September to check up on the midfielder.
Now Liverpool are sniffing around Matic, though the Reds are likely to have far from a free run at the player if Benfica do give any indication of being willing to sell.
Indeed, Matic is also believed to be on Real Madrid's radar, while Monaco have been monitoring proceedings.
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