Pranav Nair
Manchester United are ready to fork out £61m for Benfica star Joao Neves
Joao Neves is the latest wonderkid to come out of Portuguese giants Benfica and is already on the radar of English giants Manchester United.
The 19-year-old came through the youth ranks at the Estadio da Luz, making his senior bow for the club in 2022. Before that, he led the club’s youth side to the 2021-22 UEFA Youth Title, the club’s first European trophy since their celebrated 1961-62 triumph.
Neves is a defensive midfielder with an excellent understanding of the game for his age. He got his first break following Enzo Fernandez’s big-money move to Chelsea in January 2023 and has steadily established himself as a first-team regular.
Catalan outlet Nacional via TEAMTalk (h/t Manchester Evening News) reports that the Red Devils are ready to make their move for Neves and are preparing a significant bid for his services. Manchester United will need to pay at least £61 million to secure the 19-year-old’s transfer.
A defensive midfielder is key for Erik ten Hag whose options in the position are suspect. Casemiro is not getting any younger while Sofyan Amrabat is currently on loan and not a permanent deal. Scott McTominay has had a resurgence of sorts but his future at the club is far from certain.
This is where Neves comes in. The youngster is an engine in the middle of the park and is capable of making an impact at either end of the pitch. His athleticism and ability on the ball make him the ideal candidate to replace Caesmiro for the long term.
Neves is already a full international for Portugal, highlighting his recent rise to superstardom. A solid tackler, the 19-year-old is also good aerially and possesses an impressive passing range. If anything, he can develop into a version of Casemiro who is more talented on the ball while still retaining the other traits off it.
The Benfica ace is also still developing his game and will only get better with time. Neves is breaking out in a big way and it is in Manchester United’s best interests to get a deal over the line as soon as possible.
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Manchester United will need to fork out big money to land Neves but from what we have seen of the player so far, it could prove to be a snip in the long run. But whether we will have a free run at securing him or not remains to be seen.
