Arsenal 'in talks' with club over huge summer transfer for big-money midfielder

Arsenal are one of three Premier League clubs to have been in contact with Benfica midfielder Joao Neves, according to new reports. The Gunners, along with Liverpool and Manchester United had all reportedly been hopeful of bringing the teenager to the English football leagues but no club is yet ready to trigger his mammoth £102 million release clause.

HITC claim Benfica are particularly unwilling to part with Neves, who came in for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez last summer. The Argentinian became the most expensive Premier League footballer in history back in January 2023 when Chelsea signed him for a nine-figure sum and now any club hopeful of securing his Estadio da Luz successor will need to cough up a similar fee.

While Neves is still earlier on in his development than Fernandez - who had mightily impressed on the world stage at the Qatar World Cup - it has not stopped the trio of Premier League sides from developing a keen interest in acquiring his services.

Given that the club have, however, placed the Portuguese 19-year-old in the same financial bracket as Fernandez, it remains highly unlikely that his Premier League admirers are going to produce the £102m needed to trigger his release clause.

The report does go on to detail that intermediaries are still hoping to set up offers from clubs in the hope that the Primeira Liga club could be willing to hold talks. However, negotiations will continue not to be held so long as the release clause goes untouched. Neves’ Portuguese team-mate and Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was recently asked about the rumours to which he confirmed that the teenager is ready for the Premier League.

“I don’t know if United rumours are true. But I know he is ready for that big jump,” Fernandes told Sport TV. “He is an excellent player. He’s with the National team, that’s also why the big clubs are after him.”

The most recent campaign was the first in which the 19-year-old held a regular place in the Benfica starting XI. He made 55 club appearances under Roger Schmidt but the Lisbon side would go on to miss out on the title to city rivals Sporting CP. Neves’ efforts at club level did, however, put him up for international recognition and, after featuring in Portugal’s friendly fixture against Finland, he is now set to head to Germany for the upcoming European Championships.

With Neves seemingly out of the mix for a move to N7, Arsenal could continue their pursuit of Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi as their number one midfield target ahead of Everton’s Amadou Onana, Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes and Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz. While the Spaniard’s clause is said to be worth half of Neves’, the signs seem to suggest that the 25-year-old is in no rush to leave the club with whom he has been with since 2011.