Newcastle United had an interest in Benfica star Goncalo Ramos in the summer window after they saw first hand how good the 21-year-old was in their pre-season defeat in Lisbon.
Ramos sent a header flying past Nick Pope after just 15 minutes that night and in the bowels of the Stadium of Light, Eddie Howe was asked by Portuguese journalists if Ramos or any of his team-mates interested him. Howe did not deny that he admired some of Benfica's stars.
Howe said then: "I think it is a very strong and good league. Technically you could see from Benfica's style of play and the high technical style of their players in the Premier League.
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"Of course, we are looking in every league to try to find the best players for Newcastle. So I wouldn't say no."
But it was in the aftermath of the friendly game in Portugal that an inquiry went in for Ramos and the question of how much he would cost was put to Benfica. At that time Ramos was believed to be worth around the £30million mark but Benfica will be rubbing their hands after his hat-trick against Switzerland sent his price tag soaring.
Although, it's fair to say since Newcastle 's interest in Ramos in the summer his valuation hadn't exactly gone down before he grabbed a treble in Portugal's 6-1 win over Switzerland. He's already helped himself to 14 goals and six assists for Benfica with his club bossing at the top of the league in Portugal and still in the Champions League.
Whether Newcastle would have been going in for him again in January is up for debate anyway. After all Newcastle ended up swooping for Alexander Isak instead and with Callum Wilson and Chris Wood vying for places alongside the Sweden star, it's difficult to see how Newcastle could have sold him any type of dream of being the number 1 striker at St James' Park - something the 21-year-old looks to be developing into.
But things can change quickly in football and especially in January. As things stood yesterday Howe insisted he had made no definite decisions on incomings or outgoings.
There have been links for Chris Wood with Leeds United but that suggestion was played down within the camp in the last few days. Arsenal and Chelsea have also been credited with an interest in Ramos but after he replaced Ronaldo in the 6-1 demolition of Switzerland, they too will know that his services will now be at a premium.
Bearing in mind Portugal and Ramos also get a crack at reaching the semi-finals with a last-eight tie against Morocco, interest in the striker will increase. Newcastle had Ramos on their radar before the World Cup but given this World Cup was pretty much a Ronaldo swansong, few could have predicted the Benfica star would rise to prominence in Qatar.
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