Benfica are keen on the acquisition of Barcelona starlet Alejandro Grimaldo, according to Portuguese daily Record.
Grimaldo was part of the Barcelona B side last season and made 36 appearances in the second division. He contributed four goals and an equal number of assists, but couldn’t help the team stave off relegation to the third division.
There has been talk about promoting the starlet to the first team in order to continue his football development with the senior squad.
The youngster is one of the hottest prospects in La Masia at the moment, but his path to the first team may be stalled as there is Jordi Alba ahead of him and Jeremy Mathieu is also capable of playing as a left-back as Luis Enrique entrusted him with the responsibility on several occasions last season.
Barcelona have also been linked with a move for Monaco defender Aymen Abdennour and his purchase could mean Mathieu shunted to the left side of defence to accommodate the Tunisian at centre-back.
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In the prevailing circumstances, Grimaldo could be forced to seek pastures new in search of regular football at the top level.
And Benfica have cast their eyes towards the highly-billed youngster, who joined La Masia in 2008 from Valencia.
Grimaldo has represented Spain at youth level, although he is yet to make his senior debut for the national team
