Man Utd insist on £104m midfielder deal despite receiving ‘non-negotiable’ warning

Manchester United are interested in Benfica midfielder Joao Neves, but would have to pay a nine-figure sum to get their hands on him, reports in Portugal have claimed.

According to Jornal De Noticias, Man Utd are one of the two main suitors for Neves, along with Juventus – who have even sent their sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli on a personal scouting mission to observe him this week, since Benfica were playing in Italy against Internazionale in Milan in the Champions League.

Benfica are standing firm when it comes to Neves, though, since he has a €120m (£104m) release clause and they maintain his value is ‘non-negotiable’. In other words, they are not listening to offers for the 19-year-old.

That’s because the Portuguese side believe Neves can become a key element of their squad for years to come. As such, they have issued a hands-off warning to his admirers.

Of course, if anyone activates his release clause, Benfica will be powerless and it will be solely up to the player. That is a big if, though, since it would be a big risk to pay more than £100m for a player with just 30 first-team appearances to his name.

Neves has been holding his own this season, though, playing some part in all 10 of Benfica’s matches so far, including a couple in the Champions League.

He has largely been operating as a holding midfielder, a role where Man Utd rely on the veteran Casemiro and also have Sofyan Amrabat on loan (but have been having to use him as a makeshift left-back recently), so might need to think about a long-term option.

As for Juventus, they are looking for new midfielders to replace Paul Pogba after the former Red Devil tested positive for testosterone, putting him at risk of a lengthy ban.

Although Neves has mainly been sitting in front of the defence this season, he can also operate in more of a box-to-box role, as he did more often last term.

He is represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes and this month has earned his first call-up to the senior Portugal national team.

The teenager is not related to former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves, but could follow in his compatriot’s footsteps by coming to the Premier League at some stage in his career.

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