Rui Vitoria to Saudi Arabia? Brahimi off to Benfica? Nakajima heading to Porto? The crazy stories circulating in Portugal:

The transfer window is nearly upon us, and there are stories aplenty currently making the rounds in Portugal.

First off, we currently have very strong reports coming from Saudi Arabia that Benfica manager Rui Vitoria is on his way to Saudi Arabia - more specifically, it is claimed that he is on the verge of completing a move to Al-Nassr.

Вячеслав Евдокимов - fc-zenit.ru.

Those of you may recall that Al-Nassr are the team that fellow Portuguese manager Leonardo Jardim was widely expected to be joining earlier in the month, even pictured watching one of the team’s matches live in the King Fahd stadium, but eventually turned down the position, thought to be awaiting an offer from a Premier League club instead.

This is not the first time Vitoria has been linked with a move to the Middle East, expected to be on his way to Saudi Arabia at the start of the season, but a move never transpired. Now, however, the reports have re-emerged, and the many in the country seem highly confident that a move is all but guaranteed.

In other news, there is another surprising story emerging, with zerozero linking Porto’s long-serving Algerian winger Yacine Brahimi with a move to rivals SL Benfica.

Brahimi, who has been at the club since 2014, will be out of contract in the summer, and therefore will be free to join any club of his choice. Porto may well decide to cash in for him while they still can.

According to zerozero, it is more than just a rumour, with Benfica having already made contact with Porto for the talented 28-year old.

Continuing on from that, it is also suggested that Porto will turn their attention to Porimonense’s talented left winger Shoya Nakajima should Brahimi be sold in the January transfer window.

Nakajima’s extensive valuation of 40 million euros is thought to be well out of reach for any side in Portugal, but Porto may well sell one of their star players in Brahimi and put that money towards investing in the Japanese international. Time will only tell.

Another story regarding transfer news is that Benfica are believed to be very interested in bringing in former Rangers defender Fabio Cardoso, now of Santa Clara.

Cardoso has been in great form for the newly promoted Portuguese outfit, playing 13 of the club’s 14 Primeira Liga matches, scoring 3 goals in the process, and has played his part in helping the club to an impressive 8th place position.

And another story from today is that Besiktas are looking to Portuguese defender Ruben Semedo as the replacement for the departing Pepe.