Manager insists his £200m duo will not be joining Manchester United in January

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Premier League giants Manchester United like Joao Neves and Antonio Silva but Benfica boss Roger Schmidt insists neither player will be leaving in January. 

Just one point adrift of Lisbon rivals Sporting at the summit of the Portugal’s top flight, Schmidt has little interest in making 2024 a repeat of 2023, when Benfica sold star man Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea mid-season.

Fortunately for the former Bayer Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven boss, The Eagles find themselves in a position of real strength as Manchester United run the rule over Joao Neves and Antonio Silva (Fabrizio Romano). 

The former has a £104 million release clause in his contract. The latter, £86 million. And, as Chelsea discovered 12 months ago, stumping up a then-British record fee to bring Fernandez to Stamford Bridge, Benfica are in no mood to haggle. 

Manchester United eye Benfica duo

“We are halfway through the season, and we have big goals at Benfica,” Schmidt now tells Sic Noticias. “We will certainly not let any of these players leave, because we need them. 

The German remains confident, meanwhile, that neither Silva nor Neves will push for a January departure.

“The second point is that nobody wants to leave, so there is no problem with that,” Schmidt adds. “We certainly won’t let any of these players leave.” 

Erik ten Hag has big January plans

According to The Guardian, a centre-half, a central midfielder and a striker are Manchester United’s top priorities ahead of the January transfer window. United could shift their focus from one side of the Portuguese capital to the other, however, with Benfica demanding around 100 million euros for Silva. Goncalo Inacio of Sporting Lisbon can be snapped up for over £30 million less.  

Jean-Clair Todibo is another leading target, albeit a right-sided centre-half rather than a southpaw such as Silva or Inacio. Todibo plies his trade for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s France-based Nice outfit, and the connections between them and the Red Devils could potentially make negotiations that little bit smoother.