For a few weeks now, PSG has made João Neves its priority in midfield. The Portuguese midfielder, who is only 19, is coming off his first season as a starter but his talent has been obvious under Roger Schmidt (55 matches played). He has even been called up by Roberto Martinez to play in Euro 2024 (2 appearances). The first contacts have been rather positive between the two managements who know each other well having done some business in recent years (Bernat, Draxler, Ramos).
The situation is quite simple. The Águias want to keep their star for one more season, and are instead prioritizing the sale of Antonio Silva. However, there are two problems with this. First, there is no rush for the central defender. Second problem, the Portuguese club submitted an extension proposal to João Neves, who refused it. However, he would have doubled his salary, going from 500,000 euros per year to 1 million euros. The player knows full well that he can earn much more elsewhere.
Time is on Benfica’s side
From then on, Benfica has somewhat accepted losing him this summer. Especially since the suitors are jostling for position. In addition to PSG, Manchester United are very interested. João Neves’ contract currently runs until 2028 with a release clause of €120 million. Rui Costa, president of the Lisbon club, has already indicated that an offer of around €100 million would do the trick. To lower the bill even further, the Parisian club has offered to include one of its players in the operation. Renato Sanches and Carlos Soler have been mentioned.
After the first contacts, it’s time for the official offers. According to the Mail from ManhãPSG and the Red Devils have gone on the offensive. They both submitted an initial offer of €70 million, which was rejected by Benfica, who, as stated above, are waiting for €30 million more to give in. They will therefore have to be more convincing in the coming days and revise their offer upwards. This is the only condition since time is rather on the side of the Águias in this case, between the length of the player’s contract and the economic data.
