Liverpool have reportedly enquired about one of the hottest young properties in European football.
According to Portuguese outlet O Jogo, the Reds have made contact with Benfica regarding the availability of Joao Neves, who’s one of eight players at the Estadio da Luz attracting interest from a range of Premier League suitors.
It was only last year that the in-demand midfielder penned a new deal up to 2028, but his club are already desperate to offer him fresh terms with a bumper pay rise as an incentive to stay put, although their advances have yet to persuade the 19-year-old.
As outlined by Fabrizio Romano, his current contract includes a whopping €120m (£101.4m) buyout clause from which the Lisbon outfit are unwilling to deviate in terms of entertaining any bids from elsewhere.
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The first thing which must be acknowledged is that Neves is no ordinary 19-year-old footballer and that his nine-figure release clause should come as no surprise for a player of his talents.
As outlined by Between the Lines, the Benfica prodigy offers an enviable combination of searing pace, ball-carrying prowess, progressive passing and the combativeness to win possession despite his modest stature.
Over the past 12 months, he ranks among the top 5% of midfielders in Europe for blocks (1.91) and successful take-ons (1.6) per game and the top 8% for pass completion per 90 minutes (88.5%), as per FBref, and these figures are a testament to his remarkably well-rounded skill set.
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It’s no wonder that Portugal teammate Bruno Fernandes has labelled Neves an ‘excellent player’ with a ‘bright future’ (Daily Mail), but will Liverpool bring the Portugese wonderkid to Anfield this summer?
If Benfica are steadfast in their refusal to sell him for any amount less than his release clause, it’d certainly represent a massive departure from the Reds’ usual transfer policy to sign him.
The occasional splurge aside, LFC aren’t renowned for such vast purchases under FSG’s watch, although there can be a willingness to make exceptions if the perfect target is identified, hence the £111m offer to Brighton for Moises Caicedo last August before Chelsea stole in to land the Ecuadorian.
The likelihood is that the Lisbon club won’t entertain Liverpool’s initial approach, but if Richard Hughes sees Neves as a genuine game-changer, we can expect him to follow up a few more times with a persistent effort to win what could be an absorbing transfer race.
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