Bayern Munich are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to revamp the roster in this summer’s hotly anticipated transfer window. No position group seems sure to be spared from the action, and a makeover in central midfield will be one of the primary topics as Joshua Kimmich is set to be deployed in a more advanced role.
While West Ham’s Declan Rice looks to be the top priority and Leipzig’s Konrad Laimer is already joining, Bayern have options down the list as well. Among those is reportedly a teenage starlet from Portugal: Benfica’s João Neves.
A report from Portuguese outlet A Boa, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, indicates that Bayern and Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wolves are both eyeing the 18-year-old talent. His contract still runs for a while, but Benfica are reportedly looking to extend:
Despite an ongoing contract until 2028, Benfica will try to renew with Neves and raise his €60m release clause
In 2022/23, per fbref, Neves accrued 611 senior team minutes in the Portuguese top flight (17 appearances, six starts) and his profile looks to be that of a capable, physical box-to-box player who prefers to progress play via passes rather than carrying up the field, a la Leon Goretzka.
In any case, Neves would likely be too young to slot into the defensive mid role to be vacated by Kimmich but could provide competition for the future — sort of like Mathys Tel, who arrived at Bayern last summer aged just 17 and having barely broken into the Rennes senior team. Given all of this, and Bayern’s other transfer priorities, is there really much transfer budget to spare for such a player?
Stay tuned.
Want more info on the striker debate? What about the rumors of Declan Rice to Bayern Munich? Well, look no further than our newest podcast episode! We talk transfers in this one, and it goes rather in-depth. Listen to it below or on Spotify.
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