Newcastle United have reportedly set their sights on a January move for Wolves’ in-demand playmaker Ruben Neves and are keeping tabs on his situation at the Molineux.
According to a report from Daily Mail, Newcastle United are apparently interested in Premier League playmaker Ruben Neves and are keeping tabs on his situation at Wolves ahead of possibly making a winter swoop.
Ruben Neves has come on leaps and bounds since joining Wolverhampton Wanderers from FC Porto in July 2017 while they were in the Championship. The Portuguese international has established himself as one of the best midfielders in England, making over 230 appearances for Wolves thus far, chipping in with 28 goals and 12 assists.
However, the 25-year-old Portuguese maestro has just 18 months left on his current contract at the Molineux and has informed his club that he is not particularly keen on a new deal as he looks to make that next step of his football career.
As a consequence, he has been consistently linked to a move away from Molineux of late, with Barcelona and Arsenal courting him in recent times. Barcelona, for one, are in the market for a new midfielder as they plan to lay down the succession plan for Sergio Busquets’s likely departure in the summer. The Barcelona captain is out of contract at the end of the season and looks MLS-bound.
And the Barcelona board are reportedly pushing a move for Neves as a replacement for the No. 6 role, despite manager Xavi Hernandez’s reservations about employing the Portuguese international as a pivot midfielder.
However, Newcastle United have seemingly entered the race and are looking to bring Neves to St. James’ Park in the January transfer window as head coach Eddie Howe looks to bolster his midfield department in order to boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League this season.
With the exception of the brilliant Bruno Guimaraes, Ruben Neves would be an upgrade on a number of midfield options available at Eddie Howe’s disposal and would be an excellent long-term replacement for the currently injured Jonjo Shelvey.
While Sean Longstaff, Joe Willock, and Joelinton are terrific workhorses, it appears that Howe reckons they need pass master No.6 to provide Newcastle United with a much-needed sense of control and technical security in midfield.
As such, Youri Tielemans has emerged as an option, but Neves would be a better pick than the Belgian international thanks to his defensive output and ability to play all kinds of passes from all ranges. He can also pick his spot and fire stunning long-range drives.
However, there’s one problem: Wolves are not likely to be keen on a sale of their club captain in the middle of the season as the relegation-battlers look to revive their season under new boss Julen Lopetegui.
