Manchester City and Chelsea are looking at young Benfica striker Derlis Gonzalez but will have to fight off interest from his native country.
The 18-year-old is currently in Argentina playing for Paraguay Undewr-20s in the South American Youth Championships and his recent performances have reportedly caught the eye of scouts out of Stamford Bridge and Etihad Stadium according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola.
Chelsea have limited striker options and interim manager Rafael Benitez has only Fernando Torres or Demba Ba to choose from as senior strikers playing in the central role.
Torres’ two-year struggle to rediscover his best form is on going and Ba has, naturally, been inconsistent while trying to adapt to new surroundings and new teammates.
Meanwhile, Manchester City have an abundance of attacking option in Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko, but none have been in scintillating form all season.
Gonzalez’s agent is quoted in the report as admitting his client his struggling to settle at Benfica, who he joined only last year, and has an offer from Paraguayan side Guarani.
Gonzalez is currently in the Benfica youth ranks, so any offer from either Chelsea or Manchester City would be a transfer with a long-term view.
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