What sucks is he's an absolute shoe-in to replace Bernardo at Citeh.. and it'll be another one that slips through our grasp.
Joao Neves | signed for PSG
- Thread starter Zoo
- Start date
- Status
Completely different players.
He’s nothing like Silva.
Yeh he is more of a Rodri.
Played 6 for Benfica in the 7 or 8 games I watched of them since Christmas. His defensive stats are exceptional and I believe it’s his most common position.
Anyway, if he was to come to us, I feel a double pivot of him and Mainoo would suit him too. But €100 mil is probably the limit we should offer.
I think he only makes sense if we're selling Bruno and changing to a 4123 with a destroyer behind him and Mainoo. We'd likely need a more creative option out wide to support the front line.
Rodri is 190cm. Joao is 174cm. His stats look wonderful but I remain skeptical about his physique... Especially in front of Martinez.
I feel like this is the type of signing that Madrid would make. People worried about Bellingham on top of Camavinga Tchouemani Valverde. But they also forget the reason they all play well is because of that same competition. And they can be taken out of the limelight too when needed.
They should be signing him now if they are smart. Their midfield is losing Kroos and Modric not far behind and seemingly replacing them with a bunch of security guards. They need a proper passer and game controller in midfield.
I believe this has been discussed and he's actually closer to 6ft.
This would be the only issue I have. Yes, Neves would bring a lot to the team in terms of ball retention and his dynamism off the ball, but the EPL is a physical league, and we even see the likes of City and Arsenal now starting to target physical monsters, i.e. Rodri, Rice, Havertz, Haaland, Gvardiol, Saliba, Gabriel, etc.
Good point. This actually went through my mind as well when I read up on him. Seems like a combination from Modric and Kroos with more mobility and more defensive nuous, they should be all over it.
I like Camavinga though, I guess we'll see him stepping up in the coming years as well.
I'll take your word for it, all sources at google "joao neves height" point me to 1,74m which is apparently 5ft9. I'd be worried that he is just as much a DM as Mainoo is a DM...
He's 5'9.
Probably thinking of Mainoo, who is 6ft.
I doubt they will because of the Mbappe outlay. Which means we should go all in. I don't think we will though - we have too many positions to sign for. I can see him staying another season at Benfica.
Funny thing is we have Rice and have found his best position for us to be LCM or box-to-box 8 and we are actually looking for a dribbling press resistant DM.
I guess we can only sign him if we don't overpay on other positions. It would be really frustrating if INEOS sign Olise and Branthwaite instead of Neves. Can't we just offer them 75m + Lindelof? 
Palhinha only misplaced one pass and had a 98% pass completion. But I wouldn't read too much into the game because Finland didn't really do much in possession but somehow they still managed to score a couple of goals. And Portugual's midfield will be very reliant on Palhinha's ability aerially because both Neves and Vitinha are not going to do much in that regard.
Agreed. I think a Mainoo/Neves double pivot would struggle aerially and the game earlier where Portugal played Finland once again outlined the importance of Palhinha who is the one who deals with aerial balls in midfield whilst the likes of Neves and Vitinha don't deal with the aerial threat. Eventhough Finland didn't do much in possession as far as keeping the ball is concerned, they still managed to score a couple of goals.
I think it's important to spread the defensive responsibility as far as quelling the aerial threat is concerned and not overly burden the CBs to deal with that threat. Other teams deal with those threats holistically and having players like Rodri and Declan Rice at City/Arsenal quells a threat which doesn't overly burden the backline. Rodri and Declan Rice provide physicality and power both on the ground and in the air.
A lot of people here seem to have penciled in Mainoo for 40+ starts next year, but it would be nice to have the option of not running him into the ground, and if we sign Neves and a half-decent DM we'd be in good shape, and I think we could sell McTominay to fund that DM purchase.
Spending 55M on Mount really was silly.
Those goals had nothing to do with aerial threat really, the first was a great run from Pukki in behind the two centre backs and the second was another good run after the ball pinballed into the feet of Peltola. 2 shots all game and they scored both of them. As you say, I wouldn't read too much into it. Neves is good in the air.
I didn't say those goals had anything to do with losing aerial balls.
And Neves might be good in the Portuguese league at winning aerial balls, but in the EPL that will be a problem if he's utilised as a DM. The EPL is a different level to the Portuguese league and Man Utd would be best served signing a holding midfielder to do that role who has both the technical and physical ability.
Even in the game earlier against Finland, Palhina was the dominant one aerially eventhough Finland posed very little threat going forward.
watching this portugal game .....ffs vitinha and neves are exactly what we need in this squad
guys that can keep the ball, move around the pitch, aren't afraid of a fecking tackle and are tactical smart
kobe, neves nd bruno would be a brilliant three man midfield
guys that can keep the ball, move around the pitch, aren't afraid of a fecking tackle and are tactical smart
kobe, neves nd bruno would be a brilliant three man midfield
If we're getting an overinflated fee for Casemiro from Saudi, this is a no brainer. Building the future of our midfield around him and Kobbie would be brilliant.
I think the aerial presence needs to lie more on the centre backs than the midfielders, I don't think sacrificing technical brilliance in the heart of the team for a few more inches is the way to go. It's more important the centre backs we get in are aerial beasts as well as being quick and comfortable on the ball. There's also a window for the second midfielder we get in to be the physical presence when needed. If we get a giant or two at the back, Neves’ aerial ability should hold up fine.
Who's saying you have to sacrifice technical ability for aerial ability? I'm not saying that, because you can get both qualities in one player.
Neves isn't a holding midfielder and trying to shunt him in a position where positional dicpline is required isn't the best way to get the best out of his abilities which require more freedom to press the ball, dribble and get forward.
It's why I believe he will sign for City who are also watching him closely per a report from Fabrizio Romano. The setup at City suits his skilset and they already have the holding midfielder and CBs who will provide him the platform to thrive. I think from a City POV it makes more sense to shell out big for him because they don't require a lot to add to their team.
We need a 6/8 and a 6 and Neves fits the 6/8 bill perfectly, he can play in a double pivot with Mainoo all day. You get both of those qualities with Neves, the only apparent issue is he's below 6 foot hence why I mentioned that, by choosing someone who isn't as good technically, but taller and marginally better in the air, that's an unnecessary sacrifice.
A #6/8 is basically a #8 who at times drops deeper in the build up phase. Neither Mainoo and Neves should be utilised as the more positionally disciplined midfielder because we as a club should be signing a player to play that role. And in the league Neves is playing in, he's come up against a player of that ability in Alan Varela who was the standout midfielder in the game between Porto and Benfica, and his positional discipline, tactical understanding and passing game from a deeper role is already at a good level. That's the type of midfielder you want in a more disciplined role imo and that would allow the likes of Neves and Mainoo to be the interiors in midfield, which would allow them more freedom and hence better suit their skilset.
When was the last time we broke the bank on a teenager who the world could see was already a standout at the highest level? Rooney? Genuinely curious how you guys think about this.
It is interesting that we got away from this type of signing somewhere along the way.
It is interesting that we got away from this type of signing somewhere along the way.
Kante's 5 foot 6 and one of the best DM's I've ever seen
He looks closer to a Jorginho rather than a Xavi / Iniesta who we think of as interiors. I agree that we need a Matic / Rodri / Carrick type player instead. Not the type that's super nimble on their feet and can dribble their way around a few players but the type can hold off pressure with their sheer physicality, roll the defender and play some good forward passes. Tough in the air, good positional sense, don't get beaten in duels.
He does seem like a luxury player for us so I'm cooling my interest in this one.
Completely agree, I think you've read the situation perfectly and given good examples.
I think Neves is a great young player but with Mainoo already at the club and United needing multiple players to raise the level of the team, it would benefit us more to sign a proper holding midfielder.
I think from what Fabrizio Romano is reporting, both Arsenal and Man City are also monitoring Neves and both teams are better placed to sign the player imo.
Why can't we buy him with installment payments? Next summer, we should have loads of cash.
For the transfer fee being mentioned you can basically rule Arsenal out.
I was talking about position, but don't worry, Neves is that annoying guy that keeps chasing the ball for 90 minutes, he is very intense and physical for his size.
He does work as a dcm too however. Here at United we have Mainoo and Bruno. I just doubt Mainoo can be the dcm and Neves dribbling a lot with the team still being tight defensively.
At the figures quoted sadly I can't see us getting this guy, despite him being a generational talent in the position we need. It brings home just how poor we've been with throwing money at sub par or not necessary transfers in recent years.
If we can make some significant sales (Cas, Greenwood and Sancho would probably pay for Neves) then there's a chance.
If we can make some significant sales (Cas, Greenwood and Sancho would probably pay for Neves) then there's a chance.
Yeah we should go for it if we get 100 mil for casemiro, still not convinced he could play as a sole dm though but we could make it work.
Surely bruno and dalot could do some work selling our project to him.
Surely bruno and dalot could do some work selling our project to him.
You have to understand that it's accounting tricks.vIf we have say £50m in our transfer budget, we could sign 5 players for £45m each on a 5 year contract and would still be within ffp
Casemiro would be loving the paycheck here and he misses half the season with injury or suspensions.
He isn’t going anywhere and that is why he wanted such a long deal.
He isn’t going anywhere and that is why he wanted such a long deal.
- Status