DONE DEAL✅✅: Fabrizio Romano discloses the £120m midfielder Arsenal scouts favor over De Jong, Guimarães, Onana, and Martin Zubimendi.
Arsenal have a busy summer ahead as Mikel Arteta and Edu seek to finalize the squad.
The Gunners have made significant progress recently, pushing the Premier League title race to the final day of the 2023/24 season.
However, they narrowly missed out on the league title for the second consecutive year and are eager to strengthen their squad to ensure they can secure the title next season.
Arsenal are likely to reinforce their midfield due to the uncertain futures of players like Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira, and Albert Sambi Lokonga.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have been scouting one of Europe’s most highly sought-after midfielders for months.
The player in question is Benfica star Joao Neves, who is attracting interest from many top clubs.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed on X that Arsenal scouts have been monitoring Neves for months, but they face competition from Manchester City and Manchester United.
Benfica has made it clear that they will not entertain any offers below Neves’ €120 million (£102 million) release clause, as they hope to keep him at the club.
Joao Neves has emerged as a key player for Benfica at just 19 years old, making 75 appearances for the club since breaking into the first team in 2023. He has also earned five caps for Portugal and is included in the squad for Euro 2024.
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has praised Neves as “excellent” and ready for Premier League football. Transfermarkt’s Marcel de Almeida also highlighted Neves’ maturity, intelligence, and impressive performances, predicting that his market value will continue to rise and that Benfica may not be able to keep him for long.