Manchester United scouts watched Benfica youngster Antonio Silva against Paris Saint-Germain last week as they continue to monitor his progress.
The 18-year-old has enjoyed a fine start to the season in Lisbon and United are taking a big interest in him. Erik ten Hag’s club are looking for a quality young defender next summer who still has plenty of room for development and Silva fits the bill.
The player’s deal at the Stadium of Light runs until 2027 but contains a release clause of around £13million, which Benfica are already trying to negotiate up. Benfica will not countenance Silva’s sale in January but suitors will have a chance next summer.
Any deal is likely to contain a number of bonus clauses for a player Manchester City star Ruben Dias has high hopes for. Dias is reported to have already asked for a signed shirt from his compatriot, given the expectation around him. Meanwhile, United winger Antony has predicted the Red Devils know how difficult it will be to get a result against Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday evening.
He said: "We know it's going to be a difficult, tough game. My team-mates have already spoken to me about this fixture. They said it will be difficult. We have to impose our game, show our strength. We shouldn't get worked up and let our heads go down because of one game [at City], one result. Sadly, we lost the last [league] game but, when you think about it, we've beaten Liverpool and the league leaders Arsenal. Our season can't be summarised by just one game. We're now focused on the match against Everton and, God willing, we will get the three points."
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Antony also claimed that putting in the hours on the training ground has started to pay off in front of goal. He said: "I've always worked very hard and the results are a consequence of this. I'll always give 100 per cent, regardless of whether I score or not. It was nice to score another goal [at City] though, unfortunately, we lost the game. I was training that shot the day before the game. I hit about 10 to 15 balls and, thankfully, I was able to score the goal. Now it's time to prepare and train more, correct mistakes, move in the right direction and achieve great things."
The Brazilian also gave an insight into his own analysis of opposition sides, and how this helped his performances on the pitch citing their victory over Premier League leaders Arsenal as an example. He added: "I started studying the Arsenal team. Before training, I watched a video with the players..I was thinking about where the space would be, if I came on for 15 or 20 minutes, and to play intelligently. The manager put me in the starting XI, so I trained even harder. I saw it was my time and was really happy to have the opportunity to play and start the game after just a few days. I prepared and fought through the game and, thank God, it all worked out and I scored a goal. But the most important thing was that the team won."
