Manchester United have had plenty of struggles over the past decade, with their lack of a dominant midfield being one of the biggest.
During the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson, the midfield laid the foundations for success, with Roy Keane and Paul Scholes very much at the heart of it.
The duo are regarded as two of the best midfielders to have graced the Premier League, and together, they were formidable, winning 191 matches over 322 that they played alongside each other.
Therefore, the prospect of Sir Jim Ratcliffe signing a player who’s like Keane and Scholes rolled into one must be extremely exciting.
Man Utd’s search for a new midfielder
As per a report from Portuguese outlet Record, via The Faithful MUFC, Man United are looking to secure their first signing of the summer, Joao Neves.
It’s reported that the Red Devils have already made a £51m bid for the talented midfielder; however, it’s unfortunately been rejected already.
Benfica are holding out for around the £85m mark for their star prospect, as he has a release clause of £102m.
However, United will have to beat the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea in order to sign Neves.
How Neves compares to Scholes and Keane
Since breaking into the first team at Benfica during the 2022/23 season, Neves truly cemented himself as an incredible prospect last campaign.
The talented Portuguese featured in 55 matches across all competitions, including six times in the Champions League and the Europa League.
Over these appearances, he’s scored three goals and provided two assists, but serving as a creative outlet and a goalscoring threat isn’t his main instruction.
Neves’ role in Benfica’s side is to play in a double pivot of a 4-2-3-1 formation, where he’s expected to control the game while also providing support defensively.
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Neves’ 23/24 UEL Stats vs Keane & Scholes |
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|---|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per game) |
Neves |
Keane |
Scholes |
|
Touches |
93.2 |
62.8 |
62.6 |
|
Passes completed |
63.8 |
39 |
41 |
|
Pass accuracy |
88% |
84% |
90% |
|
Tackles |
3.7 |
2.2 |
3 |
|
Interceptions |
1.8 |
0.8 |
2.8 |
|
Duels won |
10 |
7.5 |
5.6 |
|
Via Sofascore |
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As you can see from the table above – which takes statistics from Keane’s 1994 World Cup campaign and Scholes’ exploits at the 2002 World Cup – Neves has plenty of similarities to both United legends, especially when comparing the numbers.
Firstly, Neves is an extremely technical player who knows exactly how to control a game, often dropping deeper to progress play while rarely losing possession, as shown by his passes completed, touches, and pass accuracy.
This is certainly similar to Scholes, who was also a master with the ball at his feet. Football analyst Ben Mattinson also stated that there are similarities between the two in terms of adding “technical ability to their midfield, help improve their build-up & become a key player to lead them.”
However, what makes Neves so “special,” as further dubbed by Mattinson, is the fact that he’s also extremely dominant from an out-of-possession perspective, and his defensive stats back that up.
This is where his Keane-like attributes come into the picture, due to his tenacious and relentless approach that has made him be labelled as a “warrior” by scout Jacek Kulig, which we all know the Irishman was, as shown by the clip below.
Just like the Irish icon, Neves can cover ground with ease, and he also has the hunger to win with a slight aggression, as highlighted by the duo’s duels won per game.
When combining all of his qualities, it’s clear to see that Neves plays in a similar way to both Scholes and Keane, and despite his insane fee, a player with such class must be signed.
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