PSG: Letellier in awe of Neves’ aerial threat

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·22 November 2025

PSG: Letellier in awe of Neves’ aerial threat

In L’Équipe, Alexandre Letellier (34 years old), goalkeeper for Paris Saint-Germain, focused on the unexpected aerial abilities of João Neves (21 years old), the Benfica midfielder regularly linked with PSG. He explains how the young Portuguese compensates for his height with a sense of timing and anticipation that makes him a real threat in duels.

Letellier: “There was the element of surprise”

“I think that at first, beyond his heading ability, there was the element of surprise. You see a player of that size jumping up, you’re not necessarily going to believe that the danger will come from him. But now, even knowing him, he’s so intelligent in his movement, in his timing, and in his anticipation of the trajectory that he’s a danger. He can even be more dangerous than a player who’s 1.90 meters tall. Now, opponents will pay more attention to him and maybe less to others…”

Alexandre Letellier doesn’t just compliment João Neves: he analyzes a phenomenon. For him, the Portuguese midfielder’s first strength lay in the element of surprise. With his compact build, Neves doesn’t look like the classic profile of a dominant aerial player. Yet, as soon as he launches his jump, everything changes.

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Letellier emphasizes the combination of intelligent movement, reading the trajectory, and surgical timing. This trio allows him not only to compete with taller opponents, but sometimes to surpass them in effectiveness.

The interesting thing is that once the element of surprise is gone, his threat remains intact. Defenders know he’s coming… but often arrive too late. A rare quality in a 21-year-old midfielder, and one more reason why his name so often comes up in the orbit of Paris Saint-Germain.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.