Man Utd have had a €60m (£51m) bid for Benfica midfielder Joao Neves turned down as the Portuguese side set the Red Devils a new asking price, according to reports.
There are likely to be lots of changes at Old Trafford over the summer after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS completed a deal to buy 27.7 per cent of the Premier League club from the Glazer family.
with the British billionaire wanting the club to only sign players under the age of 25.
A new midfielder is one of their key targets for the summer transfer window and it looks like Benfica s Neves is now their top target to improve that position.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirmed earlier this year that were monitoring the 19-year-old as they sent scouts to watch the Portugal international.
Speaking in March, Romano said: In terms of possible midfield signings coming in for United, the race remains open for Benfica wonderkid Joao Neves, who has been scouted by the Red Devils, and also by Manchester City.
Benfica will insist on the release clause of €120m [£103m] being triggered, so it’s not an easy deal, but the interest from Premier League clubs is there in terms of scouting. So far, no club has approached Benfica to start a negotiation yet, so it remains absolutely open.
And now reports in Portugal claim that Man Utd have submitted their opening offer of €60m (£51m) for Neves as they look to get ahead of the competition, which includes arch-rivals Liverpool.
But Benfica director Rui Costa has immediately rejected that first bid with the Portuguese club unwilling to open negotiations for a sum below €100m (£85m) .
Man Utd are further along than Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, PSG and Bayern Munich, who are all reportedly interested in landing the Portugal international.
It is claimed that Costa has now sent a clear message to the transfer market that they are pushing for as close to Neves €120m release clause as possible.
The report adds: By rejecting the €60m offer, Rui Costa’s message to the market is clear: he will only give up João Neves’ talent in exchange for a 3-digit check worth millions.
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