Benfica May Have to Lower Asking Price for PSG Target Linked to Liverpool, Man Utd, Expert Says | OneFootball

Could SL Benfica be forced to sell midfielder João Neves at a price that many top European clubs aren’t willing to pay? One expert believes that the Portuguese club’s finances might result in them having to lower their financial demand for the player.

Liverpool, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain are all interested in this young talent. Benfica is well aware of the high demand and is determined not to let him go cheaply.

Nonetheless, chief editor of Football Transfers and columnist for PSG Talk Extra Time Robin Bairner said on the latest episode of PSG Talk that Benfica could be forced to lower their expectations on a potential offer.

Moreover, with Benfica’s financial situation, they might have to accept a bid that’s lower than €100 million.

“Benfica’s asking price they have set it over €100 million,” Bairner said. “His release fee is €120 million, which is clearly massive. I mean, he’s a player who’s exploded onto the scene, but has he done enough to justify that sort of fee? Probably not. We’ve seen interest from England already [as] Manchester United and Arsenal have both been linked with a move for him. But these clubs are only willing to pay €50 million or €60 million, which is a huge shortfall in terms of what Benfica want…

“Benfica also need to make sales for financial reasons. They had hoped to sell António Silva, who’s a promising young centre back, but he’s not attracting the interest that he was in the first half of the season. So the whole situation with him is really complicated. Benfica obviously don’t want to sell, but there are issues elsewhere that could force them at least to drop their asking price, which could spark a bidding war. It’ll be an interesting one to watch as the summer develops for sure.”

Recently, Benfica’s sporting director, Rui Costa, made it clear that they won’t consider any offers under €100 million (£85 million). It will be interesting to see if the Portuguese side actually secures that sum.