Believe it or not, Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure from the Manchester United bench in 2013 is still an irreparable loss for the Old Trafford club.
An adequate replacement for the legendary specialist has never been found and the Red Devils are nowhere close to returning to their glory days. Hundreds of millions of euros have been invested in Erik ten Hag’s team, and the results are still lacking. Ten Hag made many risky moves, one of which is certainly the removal of Cristiano Ronaldo from the team, but even a year later there is no improvement in sight.
United are sinking deeper and deeper. After eight rounds in the national championship of England, the team from the Theater of Dreams occupies a modest 10th position, with only 12 points won, while after defeats by Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, they are tied for the very bottom of the table in the Champions League.
It is clear to any layman that a handful of things are creaking in United’s ranks, but the question is whether Ten Hag and the coaching staff, with the help of the current club management, are capable of patching up all the holes. Ten Hag sees the potential transfer of 19-year-old Benfica ace Joao Neves as the ideal solution to the lack of quality options in midfield.
An offshoot of the Lisbon giant’s youth team settled into the starting line-up of Benfica, and with great performances on all fronts, he drew the attention of the scouts of the giants from England. As reported by the British “The Sun“, Ten Hag sent United scouts on several occasions to observe the matches of the boy from Portugal. The talent scouting team was in Estoril last week, where Benfica managed to win all the spoils in the third minute of stoppage time and celebrate with a minimal 0:1.
It is expected that the Dutchman will soon officially give the sign to the management to launch an attack on Neves, and United would have to prepare a serious sum of money for that venture. The Portuguese recently extended his contract with Benfica until 2028, with a buyout clause of a whopping 119 million euros.
In the jersey of the club from the Stadium of Light, Neves made 11 appearances in the current season, during which time he recorded one assist. The young midfielder is on the list of the coach of the A national team, Robert Martinez, for the first time, and he will have the opportunity to make his debut in the qualifying match against Slovakia on Friday, October 13.
