Manchester United officials were spotted at the Estádio Municipal de Braga on Thursday night, where the Portuguese side faced Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League quarter-finals. SC Braga lost the match 1-2 and now must win their tie in Ukraine next week if they want to progress to the semi-final.

Portuguese newspaper Record have revealed the visit, but don’t say which player on the pitch Manchester United were watching. The club have been heavily linked to Braga’s Rafa Silva in the past few months, and the assumption would be the wideman was the one Manchester United want to watch. 

Rafa had an average match, trying to play a bit more centrally than he usually does, and got a 7.1 rating from Whoscored. He had a shot hit the post during the second half, but was unable to prevent his side from losing the first leg. 

According to Record, Manchester United scouts were joined by emissaries from Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal, among others. Manchester United have scouted several Braga matches this year, with Rafa Silva always looking the likely target.

Silva is a Jorge Mendes client, with the agent also owning part of the player's registration. If Manchester United genuinely want the player then Mendes can surely help them close a deal. 

Lucas Sposito.