It has been reported that a reported Manchester City target will only be sold for €120 million (£102.1 million) in the summer.
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Manchester City will have to pay north of their club-record fee of £100 million to sign Jack Grealish in that case.
Judging by history, it is rare that players signed for fees over £100 million tend to justify their price tag — with players like Ousmane Dembele, Eden Hazard and Philippe Coutinho struggling to do so.
Manchester City will have to pay £102 million to sign midfield target
In the Premier League as well, Chelsea’s outlays of £106.8 million (Sky Sports) and £115 million (The Daily Star) outlays on Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo respectively have yet to yield desired results.
Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Benfica have decided to sell Manchester City-linked midfielder Joao Neves for his whopping release clause of £102.1 million this summer.
If a suitor refuses to pay the fee, the Portuguese giants will refuse to sell the 19-year-old.
Benfica are hoping to keep Neves beyond this summer.
The likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United’s scouts have been “monitoring” Joao Neves for months.
In May, it was claimed that Pep Guardiola was keen on the Portuguese international signing for City. Back in November, Bernardo Silva also stated that if possible, he would try to ensure Joao Neves signs for Manchester City.
Manchester City should back out of Joao Neves deal
It seems like Benfica refuse to budge on potentially interested clubs like Manchester City paying Joao Neves’ £102.1 million release clause.
As talented as Neves is, spending such a fee on a teenager is a massive risk; especially considering he is not the type of player who provides goals and assists.
The highly-rated central midfielder is quite an unproven commodity at the highest level as well, lacking experience playing amongst the very best — a factor that could make his adaptation to the Premier League a challenge if he did join City.
In our view, it would be in Manchester City’s best interests to sign a midfielder with far more experience under their belt and one who would demand a considerably lesser fee.
