Man Utd to step up efforts to sign Benfica star Joao Neves
manchester united They are reportedly planning to accelerate their efforts to sign SL Benfica star Joao Neves this summer, according to the Mirror.
After coming through the Portuguese giant's youth system, the 19-year-old has established himself as a key player in Roger Schmidt's starting eleven this season.
He has been recently reported that the Red Devils have been closely monitoring the youngster's development before making a possible attack. Now, impressed by the midfielder's performances, United have shown a firm interest in signing him as reported by the club. Mirror(Through the daily mail), Man Utd are keen to step up their efforts to sign the Portuguese international this summer.
The report further claims that Neves is expected to cost fees in excess of £100m and that United's new minority shareholder, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has approved Erik ten Hag spend the money necessary to acquire the young man's service.
Neves to Manchester United
Ten Hag likes to play out from the back and the Red Devils managed to do that quite well thanks to Lisandro Martínez, Luke Shaw and Christian Eriksen last season. As a result, United looked promising and finished third in the league last season.
However, Martínez and Shaw have been sidelined for most of the season, while Eriksen has struggled to be at his best this season. The Red Devils have therefore found it difficult to properly implement Ten Hag's system in this campaign and have endured a terrible campaign so far as a result. So Man Utd need to sign the right players this summer to help Ten Hag implement their possession-based system.
Neves is a technically solid player and calm with the ball at his feet. He can play against high pressure teams, so he would be an ideal candidate to play in Ten Hag's system. Therefore, Neves would be a big coup for Man Utd if they were to buy him.
With casemiro Linked with a departure from the club, Neves would be an excellent replacement for the Brazilian. Kobbie Mainoo and the Portuguese could solve United's midfield problems for years to come if they finally acquire Neves' service before next season.
