AC Milan face competition from Benfica for the signing of German international defender Robin Koch, according to reports in Portugal.

It was reported earlier in the week by Tuttosport that Ralf Rangnick has already drawn up a list of potential targets should he take over as head coach and sporting director at Milan this summer.

Koch has been exceptional over the last couple of seasons to the extent that he has earned two caps for Germany, and funnily enough Leipzig – for whom Rangnick controls the recruitment – reportedly saw a €15-20m bid rejected.

According to the front page of O Jogo (via Calciomercato.com) though, Benfica are accelerating their attempts to land the 23-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window.

Meanwhile, Record are also claiming that Benfica will continue to invest in the German market, which started in January with the purchase of Julian Weigl from Dortmund.

Koch arrived in Freiburg at the beginning of the 2017-18 season from Kaiserslautern and has played 79 games for the club, scoring five goals. He has a contract until 2021 and has also been linked with English second-tier outfit Leeds United.

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