SL Benfica reject second offer of €70 million for Joao Neves from Manchester United

Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have both had a bid of €70 million turned down for SL Benfica star Joao Neves.

The Red Devils are clearly working on improving their midfield as the futures of summer 2022 signings Casemiro and Christian Eriksen are very much up in the air.

United have recently turned their attention to Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte but Neves remains a player of massive interest.

Portuguese outlet Correio da Manha provide a huge update this morning, claiming that the two clubs have made the same sizeable offer.

“Rui Costa turned down two offers of 70 million euros, one from PSG and the other from Manchester United,” the outlet says.

“The president … is not willing to give up the young talent, 19 years old, who has a termination clause of €120 million.”

Costa, CdM claims, “considers the midfielder vital to the success of the team”.

The outlet also reports that Chelsea and Arsenal are interested in the classy midfielder, but that neither have come forward with formal proposals yet.

Interestingly, the paper does provide United with some optimism for a deal as it reports that Rui Costa’s “uncompromising” position so far “does not mean that he has closed the door to negotiations” and that clubs may return after the Euro 2024 championship is over for Portugal and Neves.

It had already been reported that United have previously had a bid of €60 million turned down.

Paris Saint-Germain must be considered strong competitors for the player and will have deeper pockets than United. They are reportedly also prepared to offer two players in a deal to tempt Benfica into lowering the overall price.

However, United can offer Premier League football, something that PSG cannot.

Neves has already turned down a new contract offer from the Eagles as he has reportedly been offered five times as much elsewhere by another club.

If United have indeed offered €70 million for Neves, they must have a lot more in their transfer kitty than has previously been reported, given that they also desperately need to fund deals for a centre back, striker and potentially a left back.