In terms of the most discussed next up and coming young midfielder, there’s no other player who is more widely talked about than Joao Neves.
The young Portuguese starlet is making waves across the football world at the tender age of just 19.
Geez, what’s up with all these new-age players and being born yesterday? Really does make me feel like an old fart 😐.
Neves hails from Tavira in Portugal and as mentioned, makes me feel 90-years-old due to being born in 2004.
He joined the Benfica academy in 2017 before making his first team bout in the 22/23 season which was in a 3–0 defeat to Braga in December 2022.
Since then, he has become a mainstay in the side when looking at his performances in the 23/24 campaign, the season in which he truly made a name for himself.
He was so important to the Portuguese side that he ranked 6th in terms of most minutes played with 4302 under his belt despite being the youngest of the group of players to have played 4000+ minutes and joint second-youngest in the squad.
When it comes to teenagers, Neves ranks 8th with 2313 minutes which is one spot behind and 263 minutes fewer than our very own Alejandro Garnacho.
As we know as well, Neves is also part of the Portugal national team’s squad for Euro 2024.
Pretty impressive achievements for one so young 👏.
Style of Play
The youngster is full of attributes that make him the perfect player for the modern game especially when it comes to the midfield.
Joao Neves is a right-footed CDM who does a lot of the traditional holding midfielder stuff.
He’s a player who likes to drop deep (sometimes into his own box) and get the ball off his defenders to help progress it up the field.
On the ball, Neves is another player with great technical ability (something that one needs to have in this day-and-age of football, even more so in midfield) and likes to receive the ball under pressure.
The 19-year-old also has a surprising burst of speed over short distances allowing him to create space from his markers. Thanks to his agility and acceleration, Neves avoids opposition players and then drives with the ball.
For one so young, he also has really good decision-making which is something that we need in Man Utd’s side as we have too many who fail when it comes to making the correct choice.
With his ability on the ball, the Portuguese international dictates the play. In the Primeira Liga last season, Neves had the second most passes with 1900 and fifth most passes into the final third (267).
Other attributes of his game that are pros is in him having that low centre of gravity which also allows him to get away from opponents. This makes it even better when he has those bursts of speed.
On the ball, he can dribble relatively well and is a very good aggressive presser. This helps when wanting to get the ball off the opposition quickly.
While all this sounds impressive, like every other player, Neves does have his weak points with one of them being his lack of a cutting-edge in the final third.
While he can pick a pass into that area, he doesn’t have that end product you would like from your midfielders. Yes, Neves is a CDM (a position not known for its goal scoring) but in 75 games for Benfica, he only has 4 goals and 3 assists. This isn’t a great return and in a team that doesn’t score a lot, United do need an improvement in that area.
In comparison, Casemiro has scored 12 goals and has 9 assists in 83 games for United. Casemiro was ranked 6th for goals and assists this season for MUFC(5 goals, 3 assists).
At just 1.74m, Neves ain’t the biggest either. I’m not being height-ist here, but I do like my team to be relatively big. We know that physicality is an important aspect of one’s game especially in the Premier League and he could be found out in that area.
If he does come to United, our potential strongest XI would be quite small with only Andre Onana, the new CB (if he is big) and Rasmus Hojlund being the bigger and taller players.
Due to that aggressive pressing, he does leave his position which allows opponents to move into that vacated space and play beyond him. That positional discipline can sometimes be lacking.
Compatibility with Kobbie Mainoo
I mention Mainoo here as his (Neves) potential partner because Mainoo is undroppable given his form for United.
Mainoo also plays as the number 8 whereas Neves is a CDM giving us balance in the midfield so it would make sense in that aspect.
Kobbie Mainoo is another player who isn’t the biggest. He is only slightly taller at 1.75m than Neves. Having two players in the midfield who aren’t the biggest or tallest could be a real issue.
The two of them are also relatively inexperienced. That could be something to concern the manager as well. Ideally, I’d like a player to have a few more years under the belt.
Mainoo and Neves are also very similar in terms of their style.
Mainoo is good on the ball, just like Neves. Mainoo is good under pressure, Neves likes to receive the ball under pressure. Mainoo is decent at dribbling and driving with the ball, so is Neves.
The difference between them is that the Portuguese is more adept at dropping deeper and dictating the play although Mainoo does have that ability as well, at a stretch.
But our academy product is better in the final third, an area where Neves needs to improve.
Of course Erik ten Hag could use the likes of Mason Mount and perhaps even Scott McTominay (especially for the height) next to Neves but I doubt that when looking at how well Mainoo did this past season. There would most likely be an uproar from fans as well should the England international be dropped.
Joao Neves doesn’t have any injury history of note which is something that is a huge positive because we cannot be having players who are injury prone particularly after this past season.
Details
At 19-years-old, he does have a long future ahead which is a positive. I feel United sometimes don’t take age into consideration which ends up costing us when looking at the likes of Casemiro, Raphael Varane and players of the past like Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Transfermarkt has Neves priced at €55m, according to multiple news outlets, Benfica will probably be asking for £85m+. Some of those outlets have even suggested beyond the £100m mark!
I suppose that when a player has all the abilities he does, the fact that other top clubs are in for him (Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool) and with a contract that expires in 2028, one could understand why he is priced so high.
Final Thoughts
Would I bring him in? When looking at those attributes, I would, but it’s not all about that. Those concerns about whether he could actually work with Kobbie Mainoo is something that makes me think otherwise. The height is also a problem for me and the cost is a big one.
We have several areas that need improving and with a reported budget of £50m (which can increase with sales) spending £85m+ on just one player is probably not something we should consider.
I wouldn’t take him but if push comes to shove, I would. At the moment though, no.
Background: Joao Neves | Creator: Gualter Fatia | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2023 Gualter Fatia via A Stamford Bridge Too Far