Earlier this week, we saw the Portuguese media making a lot of noise by saying Manchester United are seriously interested in Benfica star João Neves, with the Red Devils sending scouts to watch the player in action in the cup tie against Sporting on Tuesday night.
Now that the Lisbon derby took place, with the 2-2 draw giving the Lions a place in the final, it’s time to see what the local press has to say about this chase.
Newspaper Record features a new story backing up their own information, claiming Manchester United were indeed there watching Neves.
Despite Benfica getting knocked out from the competition, the midfielder had a very good performance, getting good rates from local newspapers. Record gave him 4/5, O Jogo rated him 7/10 and A Bola picked him as the Eagles’ best player, with a 8/10.
The latter writes he wrote ‘history with beautiful chapter and an unhappy ending’.
It’s worth recalling that when speaking of Manchester United’s interest in Neves, Record yesterday wrote that the Red Devils would be watching Sporting’s Morten Hjulmand as well.
Newspaper O Jogo today has big praises for his performance against Benfica, giving him a 5 out of 5, with big compliments towards him.
“This ‘Viking’ was an example of daring, dedication and desire, and he infected the entire Leon team even during the long period when they were subdued by Benfica. Indomitable in the centre, whether recovering or coming out in the face of fierce red pressure, he had to drop back a lot in the first half to help out defensively at a time when Amorim’s side weren’t playing and were resting their backs while the Eagles’ whip came.
“Number 42 went all out in the second half and popped up in the right place on the edge of the box to slam home the opener. He was even instrumental in the one-two, not giving up on the move and releasing the ball to set up another Sporting goal. The only thing he didn’t prevent was Neres’ centre for 1-1… but men who do a lot can’t do everything.”
