The talented teenager is already a household name at Estadio Da Luz, and could soon be on his way to Old Trafford
Benfica’s recent record with the development of young talent is almost unrivalled in the European game. It’s a job that everyone at the club is passionate about, especially Rodrigo Magalhaes, the academy’s technical coordinator.
“[I want] to have at least six or seven players regularly in the first team, win the Champions League and then one, two or three of them win a Ballon d’Or,” Magalhaes said in an interview with The Athletic in February.
Roger Schmidt’s side weren’t too far away from European glory last season. A surprise run to the Champions League quarter-finals captured the imagination of neutrals, with Goncalo Ramos, Florentino Luis and Goncalo Guedes playing starring roles.
Ramos has since moved on to pastures new at Paris Saint-Germain. He found it impossible to turn down a lucrative move to a bigger club, just like Enzo Fernandez, Darwin Nunez, Ruben Dias, Joao Felix and Ederson before him.
Benfica mould future superstars, but the reality is, they can’t keep hold of them in the long-term. Europe’s elite are now watching the Portuguese champions on a more frequent basis than ever before, with a view to being first in line for the next wonderkid.
Right now, that would appear to be Joao Neves, who reportedly saw his release clause increased to €100 million (£109m/$88m) in the summer. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the 19-year-old has already emerged on Manchester United’s radar, with the Premier League giants thought to be plotting a January transfer swoop…
Where it all began
Neves was born in the small Portuguese town of Tavira in September 2004, and five years later, began his footballing journey at the Algarve training centre. By the time he’d turned eight, Neves had already joined Benfica feeder club Casa Benfica Tavira, where his father was working as a coach.
Ramos was going through the system at the same time, and they struck up a good friendship at the Benfica training centre in Faro. Neves was eventually handed his debut for Benfica’s Under-15s in 2017, despite still only being 13 years of age, and he signed his first contract with the club’s academy in October the following year.
Benfica knew they had another star on their hands, and his first professional contract followed in 2020. Neves’ impact in the 2021-22 UEFA Youth League then put him on the cusp of senior football, as he appeared in seven games as Benfica won the tournament for the first time. Neves was also drafted into the Portugal U19s squad that season, and featured in two European Championship qualifiers.
The big break
Neves made his professional debut for Benfica B in a LigaPro clash with Academico de Viseu on August 6, 2022, and the next logical step for him was to integrate into Schmidt’s first-team squad. The Portuguese youngster was made to wait for his chance, though, with the mid-season World Cup halting his momentum somewhat.
A surprise opportunity arose on the back of that tournament, though, with Fernandez emerging as a primary target for Chelsea after playing a key role in Argentina’s run to glory in Qatar. Benfica braced themselves for a huge bid ahead of the winter transfer window, and suddenly Neves was called up to train with the senior squad.
Schmidt gave the teenager his first taste of Primeira Division football at the end of December, as he stepped off the bench late on in a 3-0 loss at Braga. The following month, Fernandez did indeed complete his move to Chelsea, with Benfica receiving €121 million ($131m/£106m) for a player that had cost them just €10m from River Plate the previous summer.
A permanent spot in midfield opened up as a result, and Neves quickly staked his claim. He made his Champions League debut in a 5-1 last-16 win over Club Brugge in March, marking the occasion with an assist, and soon moved ahead of Florentino in the squad pecking order.
The moment he truly announced himself to a global audience came on the penultimate week of the Primeira Liga season, when Benfica travelled to arch-rivals Sporting CP. Schmidt’s side went in at half-time 2-0 down, but reduced the deficit in the 71st minute through Fredrik Aursnes, which set up a dramatic finish. The visitors snatched an all-important equaliser after a free-kick caused a scramble in the box deep into stoppage time, with Neves eventually producing a sublime instinctive volley to steer the ball into the roof of the net after seeing his first effort saved by the Sporting goalkeeper.
When quizzed on Neves after seeing him net his first senior goal for Benfica, Schmidt told reporters: “He plays with so much confidence, with so much focus, he is very good under pressure, very good with the ball, always available, very courageous. It’s a big surprise at the end of the season.
“Having another option now is perfect for us, especially because he is a boy from Benfica, from our youth team. If the players are ready, they are ready, it doesn’t matter if they are 18, 20, 25 or 28 years old.”
The draw left Benfica needing just a point from their final game against Santa Clara to win the title. Neves played the full 90 minutes once again in that contest, which the Lisbon side won 3-0 to earn the title of Portuguese champions for the first time in four years.
How it’s going
Neves followed up his title-winning maiden season at Benfica by featuring for Portugal at the U21 European Championship in the summer, and scored in their 2-1 group-stage victory over Belgium, with his stunning volley eventually voted the Goal of the Tournament. The Seleccao exited the competition at the hands of eventual winners England in the quarter-finals, but Neves was primed to take the next big step in his fledgling career.
Neves has started all but two of Benfica’s games in all competitions so far in 2023-24, helping them launch a strong start to their defence of the Primeira Liga. They haven’t been as impressive in the Champions League, though, with a fourth successive group-stage loss against Real Sociedad confirming their early exit on November 8.
Benfica responded to that blow in positive fashion, beating Sporting 2-1 at Estadio Da Luz to leapfrog their opponents at the top of the league. Neves repeated his heroics at Jose Alvalade Stadium six months earlier by levelling the scoreline in the 94th minute, with Casper Tengstedt then popping up with an unlikely winner three minutes later.
Neves has also made an important breakthrough at international level. On October 16, he received his first cap for Portugal after coming off the bench in a 5-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win against Bosnia and Herzegovina. “I will remember it for the rest of my life,” the 19-year-old said after the game. “From the first day they welcomed me in the best way, I felt at home, I just have to say thank you.”
He was also asked how it felt to play alongside Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo, to which he replied: “Ronaldo was playing at Euro 2004 and I wasn’t even born yet. Now I play with him, it’s a funny thing to say, it’s a dream.”
Biggest strengths
Neves is a holding midfielder by trade, and usually operates in a double pivot alongside Orkun Kokcu at Benfica. He’s deceptively quick and strong for a smaller man, and constantly demands the ball to try and drive his team forward.
It was no surprise to see Neves shortlisted for the 2023 Golden Boy award, as he is already showing signs of becoming a world-class player. The teenage playmaker’s footballing IQ is off the charts, and he’s a master of drawing fouls with his body positioning.
Neves is also averaging 54 progressive ball carries per 90 minutes this season, a staggering number for a man operating in a deep-lying role. He dictates the pace of games with his passing, too, very rarely giving the ball away while always looking for incisive balls in the transitional phase.
Roberto Martinez is among those to have been blown away by Neves’ ability. “He is a footballer who will make people talk at a global level,” the Portugal boss said after giving the youngster his international debut. “He lives football. He is 19 years old, he won the championship with Benfica and his conduct and behaviour in the national team shows that he was born for this.
“He is a player who plays better as a defensive midfielder, with tactical ability above the games he played at his age. I think he will be influential in European football in the next 10 years, without a doubt.”
Room for improvement
Neves is a rare breed indeed – a player with practically no weaknesses. He’s a tenacious tackler, technically brilliant and even somehow manages to win 99 percent of his aerial duels.
The only area he could really do with improving is his output in the final third. In 38 games for Benfica to date, the academy graduate has only managed to score two goals and provide two assists.
Of course, his main job is not putting the ball in the back of the net. Benfica rely on Neves to shield the back-four by breaking up play in the middle of the park, and to exploit gaps in the opposition press with his passing. But a player with his abilities should be chipping in more regularly at the top end of the pitch. The goals he did grab against Sporting were both brilliant poacher’s finishes that any striker would have been proud of.
Neves does have more goals in his locker, it’s just a question of him learning when to make runs, take shots and gamble in the box, which are certainly things that can be worked on in the training ground.
The next… Marco Verratti?
Neves may just be the Portuguese version of Marco Verratti, who served as the orchestrator in Paris Saint-Germain’s midfield for over a decade. The Italy international was a master of long and short passing in his prime, and the ball seemed glued to his feet.
Verratti’s best years are behind him now that’s he moved on to Al-Arabi in the Qatar Stars League, but he was once revered as one of the best midfielders in Europe. Neves has a similar style of play on the ball to the 31-year-old, and shares the same ability to read the game.
A lack of height has never held Verratti back either, as he works like a terrier to win the ball back and, more often than not, times his tackles to perfection. PSG and Italy both benefitted from his warrior mentality and coolness on the ball, while his opponents were left on the floor time and time again when attempting to dispossess him.
At his very best, Verratti was the full package, and it’s frightening that Neves is already approaching the same level.
What comes next?
With the winter transfer window fast approaching, Manchester United have begun drawing up their wishlist in a bid to turnaround what has been a disastrous first half of 2023-24. Erik ten Hag’s side have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup and also stand on the brink of Champions League elimination, having lost three of their four group matches so far.
United have also suffered five defeats in the Premier League and now sit down in sixth, seven points behind leaders Manchester City after 12 games. There are issues all over the pitch, but Ten Hag’s biggest immediate concern will surely be strengthening the midfield.
Summer signing Mason Mount has failed to hit the ground running, Real Madrid legend Casemiro has looked a shadow of his former self while struggling for full fitness and Danish star Christian Eriksen no longer looks capable of handling the rigours of 90-minute matches.
An injection of youthful energy is sorely needed, and Neves would walk straight into Ten Hag’s side on current form. Settling into a life at a new club in a new country isn’t always easy for young players, but former Benfica U23s coach Luis Castro doesn’t think it would be problem for Neves.
“The Premier League is the best league in the world and not only would it be able to adapt, it would play and shine,” Castro said in a sit-down with O Jogo in September. “Knowing Joao, I think he’s not worried about the next step but rather about the next game.”
Neves is still under contract at Benfica until 2028, but United do have the option to trigger his hefty release clause and it looks like a risk worth taking. Whatever happens, he is going straight to the top of the game.
