Arsenal, Chelsea joined by Real Madrid in pursuit of €100m star; trio’s scouting plans revealed

Arsenal and Chelsea are keen on signing Benfica star Antonio Silva but TEAMtalk can reveal that they face stiff competition from Real Madrid. 

The 20-year-old centre-back is considered to be one of the best young players in Europe and is only expected to improve as he gains experience.

Liverpool and Manchester United have also been linked with a move for Silva but TEAMtalk sources state that Arsenal and Chelsea’s interest in him is more concrete at this stage.

The London clubs will be in attendance to watch Silva in action when Benfica take on Sporting in the Taca de Portugal semi-final on Thursday evening.

Mikel Arteta and Mauricio Pochettino are both keen to bolster their defensive options in the summer window and have several targets on their shortlist.

Arsenal want to bring in more competition for Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, while Chelsea could look to sign a replacement for exit-bound veteran Thiago Silva.

This is despite the fact that the Blues already have a plethora of younger defenders in their squad.

In any case, Silva is a player of interest to Arsenal and Chelsea and they are both considering launching an offer for him in the summer.

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Real Madrid join race for Antonio Silva

TEAMtalk can reveal that Real Madrid are also big admirers of Silva and are ready to join the race for his signature. Their scouts will also be watching Silva play on Thursday.

Carlo Ancelotti is keen to bring in more competition in the centre-back position, with injuries to Eder Militao and David Alaba exposing their lack of cover in that area.

Silva is now on Madrid’s transfer wish list after the club have been impressed by his development at Benfica.

The youngster already has over 70 senior Benfica appearances to his name and as well as being strong defensively, he has a real knack for scoring goals, finding the net seven times so far.

Silva is already a full Portugal international and as mentioned, is only expected to get better as he gains experience.

However, Benfica certainly won’t let Silva leave on the cheap this summer. He has a mammoth €100 million (approx. £85.5m) release clause in his contract which his suitors will likely have to match to lure him away from the Portuguese club.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Real Madrid, Arsenal or Chelsea are willing to pay that much to sign the centre-half.

If they all agree to pay that much, it will be up to Silva to choose his next destination.

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