On April 15th, we covered claims from Portugal that Manchester United are one of the clubs in the picture to sign Benfica star João Neves in the summer window.
The Red Devils’ interest is on the front page of today’s Record, with ‘United advance for João Neves’ written in capital letters.
Within the report, it’s claimed Manchester United have followed the midfielder and his teammate, António Silva, for several months, and they are now focusing more on Neves.
That’s because the Premier League side are looking for a new midfielder as Casemiro won’t be part of INEOS’ project at Old Trafford.
Casemiro, 32, is expected to leave Manchester United after this season, and the Portugal international has been identified as the ‘priority to rejuvenate’ their midfield.
As of now, the Eagles haven’t received any official offer from Erik ten Hag’s side for Neves, but the newspaper states ‘this will be a reality in the short term’, meaning they will table a bid soon.
It remains to be seen whether they will send a proposal for the Benfica duo or just the midfielder.
Recent claims have stated Ten Hag’s future remains uncertain. Despite this, Manchester United’s leaders don’t want to waste time building a competitive squad for next season and Neves has been identified as the main target.
Benfica, for their part, are keen on retaining Neves for one more season, and would prefer to cash in from Silva’s sale in the summer window.
Manchester United interest in João Neves appears to be genuine and concrete. Benfica have been touchy about it, and earlier this year even released an official statement saying the Red Devils had not already secured a priority agreement to sign him.
That was very unusual and should be taken as a sign that the Lisbon club are well aware of the interest. Benfica want to keep João Neves for one more season, and that may be better for the player himself, however, that desire could be seriously tested.
