According to Record (via SportWitness), Arsenal and Liverpool will need to trigger the release clause to sign Benfica midfielder Joao Neves next year.
Neves is currently one of the most promising youngsters in European football and Record claim that Arsenal and Liverpool were keeping tabs on him on Sunday. They were impressed by his performance against Sporting Lisbon.
The source add that Benfica have no intention of selling Neves until the end of the 2024/25 season at least and any interested club will have to activate the £105 million release clause in his contract to sign him before that.
Huge talent
Neves is presently in his 2nd season with the Benfica first-team. He has already become a vital figure in their midfield at just 19 years of age. The youngster has showed plenty of maturity in the early phase of his career and he has impressed with his passing range, defensive involvements and dribbling skills from midfield.
The Portuguese can play in different midfield roles or on the right wing but he is most confident from the no.6 position. This is where he started against Sporting on Sunday. Neves scored the vital equaliser in stoppage time. Benfica went on to win the game 2-1 in the 97th minute against 10-man Sporting at the Estadio da Luz.
Arsenal could see him as a potential long-term signing for the holding midfield spot. Jorginho, Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny are all into their 30s and there could be a midfield overhaul soon. Neves would be a superb piece of signing for Arsenal, given he has no major weaknesses in his game at such a tender age.
Their main competition will certainly come from Liverpool. The Merseyside giants were prepared to pay big money for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia last summer, but both of them ended up joining Chelsea. They eventually spent on Ryan Gravenberch, who is not a genuine no.6. They could be prepared to spend big on Neves.
