Manchester City star Bernardo Silva is hoping to spoil Manchester United's rumoured pursuit of Portuguese wonderkid Joao Neves.
The 19-year-old midfielder has become one of the most highly-rated young players in Europe after a breakout year with boyhood club Benfica and earning his first senior international caps for Portugal.
Such fine displays have put the gifted Neves firmly on the radar of several heavyweight clubs across the continent, with Manchester United reportedly keen on his services and having routinely dispatched scouts to watch him in action this season.
United captain Bruno Fernandes further fanned those transfer flames over the weekend, when he revealed that he would "love" to see his Portugal team-mate move to Old Trafford in future.
"I would love to have him at United," Fernandes told Sport TV in Portugal. "But it’s Joao's choice… He has top quality.
"He’s a great player but it depends on the coach's ideas. He will have a great future, in United or somewhere else."
United are likely to be far from the only high-profile transfer suitor for Neves however, with another compatriot in Bernardo Silva now revealing his desire for Manchester City to trump their cross-city rivals in the battle for the teenage sensation.
"I am very happy for Joao and other kids who are appearing in Benfica’s team and also in the national team," Silva said this week.
"Joao Neves in the Premier League? I think that players with quality can play in any championship. I see him very focused on his club, which is the most important thing at the moment, a very young player but with a very promising future ahead of him.
"He arrived at the national team, settled in and integrated very well. He’s another one to help, if the coach thinks so, to help us help win the European Championship.
"For City instead of United? If I can, I will pull strings to Joao Neves to go to Man City. I’d like to see Joao joining City instead of Man United, of course."
However, any club interested in landing Neves is going to have to stump up a serious fee, with transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano reporting on Monday that he has a release clause in his current contract worth a cool €120million (£105m) - the same as ex-Benfica team-mate Enzo Fernandez before his switch to Chelsea last year.
Romano also said that Benfica currently have no interest in opening talks over Neves in the January transfer window, despite the sustained interest from United.
