According to reports from Portugal, Liverpool have their sights set on a coveted prospect from the Iberian nation.
Record claimed (via LFC Transfer Room) that the Reds are among a series of clubs who are ‘pressing to sign’ Benfica midfielder Joao Neves, for whom Manchester United have had a £51m bid rejected.
That unsuccessful offer from the Old Trafford outfit amounts to just half of the 19-year-old’s reported £102.3m release clause (Liverpool Echo), a clear sign of just how highly he’s regarded by the Lisbon giants.
() | @Record_Portugal: Liverpool are one of the top clubs in the Premier League ‘pressing to sign’ @SLBenfica midfielder Joao Neves (19)
Man Utd have made a proposal of £51M which has been turned down pic.twitter.com/iHoVcZZn4g
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) June 4, 2024
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Neves would be a perfect fit for the profile of the young defensive midfielder that Liverpool are reportedly seeking in the summer transfer window.
Despite still being a teenager until September, he’s already made 75 appearances for one of the most famous clubs in European football, and it’s with good reason that the 19-year-old has consistently been selected at the Estadio da Luz.
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As per FBref, he ranks highly for a number of key metrics among positional peers in Europe’s main leagues, most notably featuring among the top 6% for successful take-ons per game (1.6) and the top 8% for pass completion (88.5%), which indicates that he’s clearly very comfortable on the ball.
Neves could tie down the number 6 position at Liverpool for years if we were to sign him, and he’d have an experienced mentor in Wataru Endo from whom to absorb valuable nuggets of advice, although the finances which’d likely be involved could stretch the Reds’ summer transfer budget.
This feels like a rumour which could persist right throughout the off-season, so let’s see if the Anfield hierarchy show up United by offering a fee which’d tempt Benfica into selling the precocious youngster.
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