Once again, Arsenal scouts were busy watching Ruben Neves this weekend.
The teenage Portugal international is already Porto captain at the age of just 18, and became the youngest player to reach 50 first team appearances for Porto on Saturday.
Someone from Arsenal (probably former Arsenal player Luis Boa Morte) was there to see the game, and Neves apparently impressed once again.
Arsenal were present at Estádio do Dragão last night to witness Porto’s 2-1 win over Paços, where Rúben Neves put in a MotM performance.
— Jan Hagen (@PortuBall) December 6, 2015
Arsenal has been present at Porto’s last 4 games. Think it’s safe to say someone has cought their eye. OJogo/ABola believe it’s Rúben Neves.
— Jan Hagen (@PortuBall) December 6, 2015
ABola says Neves is a priority to Wenger, but a transfer in January will only happen if Arsenal trigger the youngster’s €40m release clause.
— Jan Hagen (@PortuBall) December 3, 2015
Without Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin for the foreseeable future, a move for Neves would make sense but Porto will be unwilling to let him go. His contract has a €40m (£29m) release clause.
It sounds a lot of money for a young player but, if he’s as good as Porto and Arsenal seem to believe, it could be a bargain. When you sign such a young player, you could have him for the next 10-15 years, or you can sell him for a big profit if he impresses hugely. The potential investment, though it seems a big one, would be wise.
Even when the Gunners were short on money, Arsène Wenger wasn’t averse to signing young players for big money (see Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain) so, with financial restraints no longer too much of a concern, would he be happy to spend almost £30m on an 18-year-old now?
Time may tell.