Benfica has no intention of negotiating the transfer of João Neves, reports Fabrizio Romano. The transfer market expert writes that scouts from Manchester United have frequently gone to see the talented midfielder. However, in Lisbon, there is no plan to lower their asking price for him.
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According to Romano, Neves has the same release clause as Enzo Fernández did at the time of his transfer to Chelsea. The Argentine eventually moved to the London club in January for a whopping 120 million euros. United will therefore have to break their transfer record to sign the nineteen-year-old Portuguese. The record is currently held by Paul Pogba, who was transferred from Juventus in the summer of 2016 for 105 million euros.
Neves is making a significant rise. The single-time international broke through last season under Roger Schmidt and has rapidly developed into one of the key players in Benfica's squad. This season, he has appeared in eighteen matches for the Portuguese top club, scoring once and providing one assist.
According to English media, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is about to acquire a minority stake in Manchester United, is open to selling Casemiro to partly finance the acquisition of Neves. The Brazilian transferred from Real Madrid in the summer of 2022 for more than seventy million euros. In his first season in Manchester, he was an important and valued player, but the 31-year-old ball winner has been increasingly criticized for his unnecessarily aggressive style of play. According to El Nacional, Casemiro himself would like to leave United.
Updated: 03:54, 20 Nov 2023
