Jair Tavares: Hibs keen to strike deal for Benfica forward

Reports emerged on Tuesday morning suggesting that the Capital club were eyeing a move for the 21-year-old.

The forward is yet to feature for Benfica’s first team but was called up to train with the senior squad by former manager Bruno Lage.

He contributed four goals and one assist in 24 appearances in the Liga Portugal 2 last season as Benfica B finished fifth, getting on the scoresheet in his last two games as he netted the opener in a 3-2 win away to Porto’s second-string side and scored in a 2-1 home defeat by Feirense.

Tavares is on the radar of several teams, including Dutch Eredivisie side Go Ahead Eagles but reports in the player’s homeland suggest a move to Scotland looks most likely.

He tends to play on the left of a front three, but has also operated as a left and right-sided midfielder, and occasionally as a centre-forward.

He was involved in Benfica’s youth team as they reached the final of the 2019/20 UEFA Youth League competition.

Football runs in his family, with elder brothers Cláudio and Miguel both footballers with Portuguese lower-league outfit União de Santarém, while cousin Renato Sanches plays for Lille in France and the Portugal national team.

Hibs have already made six signings this summer.

Striker Momodou Bojang, who also spent time in Portugal, has joined on a season-long loan arrangement while permanent deals have been struck for Rocky Bushiri, Nohan Kenneh, David Marshall, and Lewis Miller, and Ewan Henderson’s loan also became permanent.