OPINION
Rafa Benitez must keep a close eye on three of Russia’s first-team stars on Wednesday afternoon as he looks to avoid relegation in the Premier League with Newcastle next season.
Russia take on Portugal in their second Group A match of the Confederation Cup as they look to qualify ahead of New Zealand and Mexico for a place in the semi-finals.
Former Liverpool manager Benitez will be desperate to add to his side this season and should be using the eight-team competition as a scouting pool of talent in order to bring the best combination of quality and value to St. James’ Park.
With the majority of Russia’s squad currently plying their trade in the top tier of Russia football, an unearthed gem could be found and brought to one of Europe’s biggest leagues for the first time in the form of the Premier League.
This Is Futbol analyses how three of Russia’ starting eleven from their clash against Mexico, that are likely to start against Portugal, would vastly improve Benitez’s chances of staying in the Premier League.
Here are those three players, including the captain of one of Russia’s biggest footballing institutions who is the answer to a Newcastle problem position: