Benfica’s Joao Neves is a player Man United have been tracking in recent months and the 19-year-old may have just opened the door for a move this summer.
According to Fabrizio Romano, in the build-up to the January transfer window, Man United sent representatives to scout the Portuguese star as he put in a dominant display against Sporting Lisbon back in November.
Neves is a player the Premier League club want and according to the Mirror, the Benfica star is being viewed as a priority investment in order to take Erik ten Hag’s squad another step forward.
Other clubs are also interested in the midfielder as he is one of the brightest prospects in Europe but many may be turned off making a move as the youngster has a €120m (£103m) buy-out clause in his current deal, which expires in 2028.
Neves has recently been speaking about his future and has opened the door to a summer move. “Staying at Benfica next year? I can’t promise anything for next season,” the youngster said via Fabrizio Romano.
“My wish at the moment is to stay at Benfica and then we will see, you never know.”
Neves is renowned for breaking up play and instigating attacks from deep and would be a great addition to Ten Hag’s team. Casemiro is not getting any younger and bringing the 19-year-old in next season would allow him to learn from the former Real Madrid star with a view of taking over the role the season after.
??? João Neves on his future: “Staying at Benfica next year? I can’t promise anything for next season”.
“My wish at the moment is to stay at Benfica and then we will see, you never know”. pic.twitter.com/pKwt6XJvsI
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 15, 2024