Manchester United eyeing Benfica wonderkid Joao Neves as Casemiro’s replacement | OneFootball

An injury-ravaged Manchester United suffered a humiliating 0-4 loss at the hands of Crystal Palace in their Premier League game at Selhurst Park on Monday.

With skipper Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire joining the ever-expanding injury list in the build-up to the game, manager Erik ten Hag was forced to pair Casemiro with Jonny Evans at the back.

This was the 14th different centre-back partnership this season and it is fair to say that the move did not work with the Brazilian, in particular, disappointing big time.

The former Real Madrid superstar was constantly out of position as he kept going to ground in a bid to win the ball back, forgetting that he was a centre-back and needed to support the recently-fit again Evans.

Casemiro out

Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze had a field day against the Brazil international and the display was another reminder to INEOS that they need to move the 32-year-old on in the summer.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe was far from impressed with the club’s decision to throw so much money at Casemiro and offer him a long-term deal considering his advancing years.

There is interest from Saudi Arabia, Turkey as well as from Italy and if the club can recoup half of what they paid for the defensive midfielder’s services, it would be seen as a good deal.

Portuguese daily Record have claimed that the 20-time English league champions have zeroed in on the perfect replacement should the Brazilian depart – Joao Neves of Benfica.

He is expected to cost around €100 million and is one of the most sought-after young midfielders in world football. The youngster could form a lethal long-term partnership with Kobbie Mainoo at the centre of the pitch.

It is well-known at this point that the Red Devils have been monitoring the Portuguese international for quite some time now and the outlet (via Sport Witness) claimed that the 19-year-old is the “priority to rejuvenate” the midfield.

The report mentions that while no official bid has been submitted, “this will be a reality in the short term”, indicating an offer will be tabled soon.

Joao Neves in as replacement

Benfica want to keep Neves for one more season and are much more open to the sale of central defender Antonio Silva, who is also a United target.

With Alvaro Fernandez expected to sign for the Portuguese giants in the summer, United could use that as a means to further their talks for the defensive midfield maestro.

Benfica had made it clear in January that they had not agreed any pre-agreement deal with United and it will be interesting to see whether the Old Trafford side actually go after both or choose one for now among the aforementioned duo.

A lot will depend on the eventual budget and INEOS will need to be smart with their recruitment as the club is in need of multiple players all across the park and they cannot afford to utilise the majority of their funds on one player alone.

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