Manchester United is looking high and low for a perfect midfield partner for star player Kobbie Mainoo for the next season. The club is persistently looking for a player who is going to complement the skills of Mainoo and ensure the team performs well next season.
The management of the club, INEOS, is planning to change the players in the club this summer. This move aims to add new life to the club and boost the team’s play. Buzz is that players like Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, and Donny van de Beek might go. Even the job of coach Erik ten Hag is at risk.
INEOS has set its eyes on Joao Neves, a young midfielder from Portugal who has been performing well at his home club, Benfica. However, Manchester United will not get Neves on the cheap. The release clause for the teen star is set at £86 million.
Neves, who is a teenager just like Mainoo, has played 54 matches in all competitions for Roger Schmidt’s team this season. His performance has been so good that he might find himself making an entry into the Portugal team that will play in the European Championships.
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ESPN has confirmed that INEOS is keeping a close eye on Neves’s performances and might move to the Manchester United star this summer.
But for this to happen, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford, the top brass at INEOS, have to make sure that the high earners at the club are out of the club this year. This might be a tall order, especially since the Euro 2024 is just around the corner.
Recently, Bruno Andrade, a journalist from Mais Futebol, spoke about the situation. He has stated that Benfica will not negotiate for less than the release clause for a player like Neves. He further stated that the club believes that Neves’s participation in Euro 2024 will help them get the full asking price for him.
Andrade added that Manchester United’s eagerness to sign promising talents, combined with Benfica’s knack for selling their main academy players, can make this deal possible. He pointed out the involvement of Jorge Mendes, the skilled negotiator, that could also seal this deal.
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Summarizing, while it may look unlikely for a player in Portuguese football to leave for the value of his release clause, the recent cases are evidence that it’s not impossible.
If a club like Manchester United, a negotiator like Jorge Mendes, and the success that Benfica has been enjoying from the sale of young players come together, then it would not be surprising to see a club paying Neves’s £86 million release clause.
