Manchester City have reportedly been joined by West Ham United in the race for Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo.
The Spaniard has now entered the final year of his deal with the Portuguese giants and will depart on a free transfer at the end of the season as things stand.
Benfica are understood to be open to a cut-price sale in the coming weeks in order to avoid losing Grimaldo for nothing in 2023, which has alerted numerous clubs.
Arsenal were hitherto linked with a move for Grimaldo, but the Gunners dropped their interest after completing the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Man City.
Zinchenko's departure from the Etihad has left Man City scouring the market for a new left-back, but they were not prepared to meet Brighton & Hove Albion's valuation of Marc Cucurella.
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Cucurella ultimately joined Chelsea in a deal that could fetch as much as £62m, and Pep Guardiola is still short of options on the left-hand side of defence, where Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake have deputised over the past year.
A move for Grimaldo has now been mooted, but according to GIVEMESPORT, West Ham are now in the race to sign the former Barcelona youngster.
The Hammers are now fighting an uphill battle to pip Juventus to the signature of Eintracht Frankfurt's Filip Kostic, and journalist Dean Jones told the outlet that Grimaldo has emerged as an ideal alternative.
"I know they really like Alex Grimaldo. He was linked to Man City the other day. So he's one of the top names they've looked at," Jones explained.
"But there'll be others too, as there always is with West Ham. Maybe this is part of the problem. They go after too many players at one time and end up with no one."
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Grimaldo joined Benfica for just £1.9m in January 2016 and has since made 248 appearances for the club in all competitions, registering 19 goals and 51 assists in the process.
The left-back ended the 2021-22 season with a tally of six goals and nine assists from 48 games, and he has played the full 90 in both of Benfica's matches already this season amid the ongoing speculation surrounding his future.
Grimaldo's trophy haul with Benfica includes three Primeira Liga titles, one Taca de Portugal, one Taca da Liga and three Supertaca Candido de Oliveira crowns, but he is still waiting for his first senior Spain cap.
Man City and West Ham will begin their 2022-23 Premier League campaigns with Sunday afternoon's showdown at the London Stadium.
Ben Knapton
