According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United scouts were present to witness Benfica teenager Joao Neves play against Sporting on Sunday.

Neves is the most recent Benfica kid to break onto the scene and pique the interest of several major clubs around Europe.

The 19-year-old, who can play in defensive, central, or offensive midfield, has already made 39 appearances for the Portuguese giants and is now a regular starter under Roger Schmidt.

Over the weekend, he scored his first goal of the season against Sporting, striking a 94th-minute equalizer three minutes before Casper Tengstedt’s dramatic victory.

With Manchester United scouts apparently in attendance, Neves chose the opportune game to score a spectacular goal.

Erik ten Hag’s side are’monitoring’ the Portuguese sensation, according to Romano, but will not try to sign him until the ownership situation is sorted.

He wrote on X: “Understand Manchester United scouts were in attendance at Benfica game vs Sporting to follow Joao Neves.

“Portuguese midfielder born in 2004 is being monitored by MUFC scouting department, waiting for board changes to make future decisions.”

A number of clubs are interested in signing Neves, who signed a new five-year contract in August.

His release clause is said to be worth £103 million, and as we saw with the Enzo Fernandez fiasco, Benfica are reluctant to accept anything less.

The Red Devils are interested in signing Neves in January, according to Portuguese outlet Record, while Manchester City is also intrigued.

Ten Hag has a plethora of choices in center midfield, but it is clear that quantity trumps quality.

Signing fee of £70 million Casemiro has lagged far behind this season, while Sofyan Amrabat has struggled since signing on loan from Fiorentina in August.

Ten Hag is expected to make signing a new player in that position a major priority, as he is also in need of a new center-back.

Ten Hag has had to deal with multiple injuries this season, the most recent being Rasmus Hojlund and Christian Eriksen, who were both scheduled to play for Denmark during the international break.

According to a statement on the club’s website, “Christian has a knee injury that will keep him out for around a month, while striker Rasmus suffered a muscle strain.” He is expected to return before the end of November.”