Benfica have reportedly decided which of their two star players they are prepared to cash in on amid interest from Manchester United ahead of this summer’s transfer window.
The Red Devils have previously been linked with Benfica midfield wonderkid Joao Neves by the Daily Mirror, but it now seems that the Portuguese giants are now leaning towards talented young centre-back Antonio Silva being their big sale of the summer, according to Record.
The report notes that Silva has a €100million release clause, so clearly this is a player that would not come cheap for Man Utd, but he does at least seem like a slightly more realistic target than Neves right now.
Silva has shone as one of the top young defenders in Europe, and he could surely be ideal to come in at Old Trafford right now, where Erik ten Hag is struggling with a combination of ageing and injury-prone players in that part of his squad.
Silva transfer opportunity for Manchester United
While arguably the entire United squad needs a makeover, it might be wise for the club to start off by strengthening their defence and building from there, with Ten Hag’s side conceding at a worrying rate for much of the season.
Some of that will be down to the poor performances of Andre Onana in goal, but it might also be that he’s suffered because of a lack of protection from his defence, so bringing in Silva as a long-term successor to ageing players like Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane makes sense as a priority.
Neves would also surely be a fine addition to improve this MUFC midfield after a lack of impact from the likes of Casemiro, Sofyan Amrabat and Christian Eriksen, but they may have to look elsewhere as it perhaps seems unlikely Benfica will let two such important players go in one window.
Benfica tend to make one big sale per summer, letting Goncalo Ramos go last year, and Darwin Nunez the year before that.