Beware the next Enzo & Darwin! Man Utd risk getting RIPPED OFF by Benfica

Tom Weber

• Updated: 21 Mar 2024 09:04 GMT
• 4 min read

Benfica are masters at selling at inflated prices and Man Utd need to be wary of falling into the same trap as Chelsea and Liverpool.

The Lisbon giants have made a name for themselves with smart sales. By giving their best performers high but not unpayable release clauses, Benfica have made a fortune in recent seasons.

Enzo Fernandez was snapped up by Chelsea in January 2023 for €120 million off the back of an impressive World Cup. Six months earlier, Liverpool had negotiated a €100m package for Darwin Nunez, who had a €150m release clause. Given the inflated fees involved, both players have failed to live up to expectations.

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Fernandez is a very good midfielder - he's a World Cup winner after all - but he has barely had the impact of a €60m player, let alone of someone worth €120m. Nunez, meanwhile, is a solid centre-forward and he does get a bad rap at times, but he too is nowhere near worth €100m. Indeed, according to FootballTransfers' Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) algorithm, both players are currently valued at just €51.8m.

Chelsea and Liverpool fans are well within their rights to feel that their clubs have been ripped off by Benfica, and Man Utd are now in danger of falling into the same trap. The Red Devils are very keen on Joao Neves and Antonio Silva, who have eye-watering release clauses worth €120m and €100m, respectively.

Man Utd need to be wary

While the Eagles, it is believed, won't insist on those clauses being triggered, with the club reportedly willing to accept €100m and €80m bids, those figures are laughable too, even in today's inflated market. There is no doubt that Silva, a 20-year-old centre-back monster, and Neves, a 19-year-old combative midfielder, are high-potential players who can become top European players in their positions.

However, according to data experts SciSports, neither has the potential to become the kind of player who should command the fees being talked about. Silva ranks 11th among U21 centre-backs in terms of potential, while Neves languishes in 16th among central midfielders of the same age category.

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Man Utd captain Bruno Fernandes is right to heap praise on young Neves, but neither he nor Silva would come into Erik ten Hag's team and immediately improve it. Silva does not have the potential to reach the same heights at his peak as Raphael Varane or even Harry Maguire and Neves is currently not even on the level of 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo.

Shelling out €180m-€220m on these two youngsters could be an absolutely disastrous decision. While Sir Jim Ratcliffe has announced that Man Utd will look to sign 'the next Kylian Mbappe' or 'the next Jude Bellingham,' they would be well advised to try and unearth them not in Lisbon but somewhere else.