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In keeping with studies from Portugal, Liverpool have thrown their identify into the ring for a extremely coveted teenage expertise.
The print version of O Jogo claimed (by way of Sport Witness) that the Reds have ‘joined the race’ to signal Benfica midfielder Joao Neves, who’s additionally been linked with Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
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The 19-year-old presently has a launch clause of €120m (£103m) in his contract on the Estadio da Luz, though his employers are reportedly looking for to extend this by 25% to an eye-watering €150m (£128m).
There’s no point out of presents being tabled and even talks being entered into within the report, so the curiosity seems to be at a preliminary stage.
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola makes tactical Liverpool assertion after Sunday’s title race twist
O Jogo’s report described Neves as a ‘laboratory weapon’, such is his burgeoning expertise, and a better have a look at his efficiency metrics would recommend that he already boasts an exceptional talent set.
As per FBref, he ranks among the many prime 20% of midfielders in Europe over the previous yr for a variety of attributes, most notably passes tried (79.7 per match, 98th percentile), blocks made (two per recreation, 97th percentile), tackles gained (three per match, 92nd percentile) and cross completion (88%, 91st percentile).
{The teenager} has already performed 66 occasions for Benfica’s first staff (Transfermarkt), and he might probably line out towards Liverpool in a couple of weeks’ time if each side come by means of their respective Europa League quarter-finals, which’d then see them come face-to-face within the final 4 of the event.
There’s the potential for an intriguing narrative if the Reds are to appoint Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim as their subsequent supervisor, and he in flip raids his present membership’s arch-rivals for the precocious Neves.
Whereas any switch for the 19-year-old gained’t materialise for a while but, his identify might be properly price keeping track of in the course of the run-in to this season, particularly if he finds himself enjoying at Anfield in a European semi-final in 4 weeks’ time.
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