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For a while now, Manchester United has been linked with fast-rising Benfica youngster Joao Neves as centredevils covered.
The young midfielder who mainly operates as a 6 has already cemented himself as a key figure in Roger Schmidt’s Benfica side, a very impressive feat considering he is still only 19.
His performances have caught the eye of European bigwigs and his astonishing €120 million release clause is enough to describe his sheer quality and value.
It seems the reported United interest is making headway as today’s edition of Record comes with the headline, ‘United advance for João Neves’ in all caps.
According to the report, The Red Devils have been following Neves’ progress as well as his teammate Antonio Silva but they are now solely focusing on Neves.
Record reports the reasoning behind this is the fact that ageing midfielder Casemiro is not part of INEOS’ plans.
True to this, centredevils had just last week covered that Manchester United were indeed looking for a buyer for Casemiro with Turkish outfit Galatasaray being the most interested in the 5 time Champions League winner.
The Record report goes ahead to clarify that Benfica haven’t received any offers for Neves yet but they claim it’s only a matter of time before a United bid arrives or as they put it, ‘this will be a reality in the short term.
It remains to be seen if United will send in a bid soon for Neves or perhaps even for both Neves and compatriot Antonio Silva.
What is clear is INEOS will definitely be looking at all the ways to build a competitive squad as Sir Jim Ratcliffe seeks go return the club back to its former glory.
