Arsenal ‘expected’ to make improved offer to sign ‘excellent’ 19yo wonderkid – report | OneFootball

Arsenal are set to make an improved offer for Benfica midfielder Joao Neves, according to Portuguese publication A Bola.

The Gunners have been fancied to sign a new holding midfielder this summer with the prospect of Thomas Partey heading for the exit door.

A Bola report that Mikel Arteta’s side recently made a £51 million offer to sign Neves, but it was not sufficient to convince Benfica into a deal.

The London giants are ‘expected’ to come up with a renewed proposal soon.

Benfica are holding out for the player’s £102m release clause, but they are aware that their valuation might a stretch for any interested party.

Neves would be a statement signing for Arsenal

The 19-year-old had a brilliant full season with Benfica last term. He had a passing accuracy of 90 percent in the Portuguese top-flight, winning almost 60 percent of his duels.

The teenager also won an impressive two tackles per outing alongside six ball recoveries. He also excelled with his tireless work rate and high pressing in the opposition half.

Neves has all the attributes to become a regular at the heart of the Gunners midfield. He has shown a lot of maturity at his age and should only get better with more experience.

A Bola claim that United are also in the running to sign the wonderkid, but Arsenal should have an edge over them, having qualified for next season’s Champions League.

The club have also been chasing for the league title in each of the previous two seasons. This should encourage Neves to choose the Gunners over United this summer.

Benfica have yet to lower their demands for Neves, who was praised as an ‘excellent‘ player by Bruno Fernandes. However, their stance could change over the next few weeks.

Rui Costa, who is Benfica’s president, recently said that Portuguese teams can’t survive without sales and he would not allow the club to breach the Financial Fair Play limits.

Benfica were initially aiming to sell Antonio Silva to balance their books, but Neves could now emerge as the likely candidate to leave during this summer’s transfer window.

Stats from Sofascore.com