According to a report in Defensa Central, Real Madrid are not expected to continue their chase for Benfica defender Antonio Silva, and this decision could be a major boost for Premier League sides Liverpool and Manchester United.
Antonio Silva is currently one of the most exciting young defenders in Europe but Benfica have put a price tag of at least €100 million on the 20-year-old and this is turning out to be a major stumbling block for Florentino Perez. Silva is valued at only €45 million but his contract run until 2027 which has allowed Benfica to jack up his price.
The centre-back is a product of Benfica’s famed youth system and he’s played close to 100 games for the senior side. This season, he’s featured in 30 league games and after 34 games, Benfica have conceded just 28 goals which is the second-best in the league after Porto who have let in 29 efforts.
Silva has won close to 70% of his tackles and has made 23 interceptions along with 181 recoveries. In the 2618 minutes that he’s been on the pitch, Antonio Silva has committed just 18 fouls and has been dribbled past just thrice.
He’s definitely positioned himself to be a future superstar but we think Real Madrid are doing the correct thing by backing off. By signing Mbappe as a free agent, Real Madrid will be able to afford the €100 million price tag but they already have some fine central defenders and it makes no sense to spend so much money on the 20-year-old.
Ancelotti has top centre-backs like Rudiger, Militao and David Alaba and the manager would much rather use those funds to refresh the two full-back positions during the upcoming transfer window. The right-back position needs the biggest patchup and Ancelotti is also out in the market for a new left-back.
However, if Real Madrid stick to this decision then it is very good news for Manchester United and Liverpool because both of them are badly in need of a new central defender and Antonio Silva can fit in perfectly.
Joel Matip is leaving so the management has to bring in reinforcements and this requirement is more urgent because Van Dijk might also head for the exit doors. In the case of Manchester United, their need is even clearer because they are going to offload Varane, Maguire, Evans and Lindelof so they will have to sign not one but at least two top-quality centre-backs before the 24-25 season kicks off.
Having said that, these are still early days and there’s a major chance that Madrid might refuse to let a world-class 20-year-old slip away from their hands and if they do make concrete moves for Antonio Silva, there’s no way either Liverpool or Man United will get a look in.
