Arsenal are now eyeing a move for a £100 million player who Premier League rivals Man United have made an offer to sign.
Edu and Arteta targeting new midfielder for Arsenal this summer
After Mohamed Elneny’s departure from London Colney and amid the uncertainty surrounding midfielder Thomas Partey, it is believed that Arsenal could bring in another midfielder this summer.
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24-year-old now reaches agreement to leave Arsenal for La Liga giants
The Spaniards are now looking to shake hands on a deal with Edu.
Partey is attracting serious interest from Saudi Arabia, and with just 12 months remaining on his contract, sporting director Edu and manager Mikel Arteta could give the green light for the 31-year-old to depart north London.
In terms of the Ghanaian’s possible replacement, Arsenal have been targeting Everton midfielder Amadou Onana among other options, according to reports. Whoever potentially comes in would also be an alternative/partner for star engine room man Declan Rice.
Benfica starlet Joao Neves would be quite the coup in this regard, with the Portugal international representing his nation at Euro 2024 after a stellar campaign.
Arsenal eyeing move for Neves with Man United bid already placed
Journalist Duncan Castles, speaking on The Transfers Podcast, says Arsenal are eyeing a move for Neves despite United already having placed a bid.
“The Transfers Podcast understands that in addition to interest from the Premier League – Manchester United have already made an offer – we’ve reported on that several weeks ago and Arsenal also have interest in him,” Castles said.
“PSG have also expressed their interest in signing Joao Neves and placing him in a new midfield alongside fellow Portuguese midfielder, Vitinha. PSG are looking for a new midfielder and want a special type of midfielder. The problem of course is whether you can get him out of Benfica. He has a €120m release clause in his contract and the word from Portugal is it will take at least €100m to sign him.
“My understanding is PSG don’t want to go that far. Neves recently rejected a new contract which would have doubled his salary.”
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Joao Neves’ best Primeira Liga games for Benfica last season |
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|---|---|
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Match |
Match Rating (via WhoScored) |
|
Benfica 2-1 Sporting CP |
8.90 |
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Benfica 1-0 Chaves |
8.71 |
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Benfica 3-0 Famalicao |
8.45 |
|
Chaves 0-2 Benfica |
8.43 |
|
Benfica 5-0 Arouca |
8.08 |
The very highly-rated teenage midfielder made an impressive 55 appearances for Benfica in all competitions last season, scoring three goals and registering two assists. Neves was near-undroppable for Benfica boss Roger Schmidt, with the 19-year-old’s former trainer Luis Castro telling O Jogo that he’s a “complete” and “very intelligent” player already.
“[He can] play in any championship in the world. [He’s] a complete and very intelligent player,” said Castro (via Sport Witness).
“The Premier League is the best league in the world, and not only would he be able to adapt, but he would also play and shine.
“Knowing João, I think he is not worried about the next step but about the next game. He had good training at Benfica, but at family level, he also had a lot of support. He is very focused. I believe that if and when he takes the leap he will be prepared.”