Chelsea are interested in signing Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves if they can't sign Frenkie de Jong this summer, according to a fresh transfer claim.

The Lowdown: Neves staying put for now

The Portugal international looked to have played his last game for the Old Gold at the end of last term, appearing to wave goodbye to supporters after their final Premier League home match of the campaign against Norwich.

Neves has since remained at Molineux, playing every minute of league action so far this season and even posting the squad's highest WhoScored rating in the early weeks of the campaign.

There is still time for the 25-year-old to leave Wolves this summer, though, and one journalist's fresh claim could make Bruno Lage a little twitchy.

The Latest: Chelsea keen on Neves

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Simon Phillips claimed that Chelsea could look to sign Neves if they fail to bring in Barcelona midfielder De Jong.

He stated:

"A couple of names that I do know Chelsea have considered for central midfield in recent weeks is James Garner from Manchester United, who could be available this window, and they’ve also considered Ruben Neves.

"But nothing has moved at the moment on them so I think Chelsea are probably still deciding whether they need to get another centre midfielder if they can’t get De Jong."

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The Verdict: Would be a huge blow for Wolves

There is no doubt that losing Neves at this stage in his career would be an enormous blow for Wolves, especially when it looks as though he could be remaining at the club, having not yet moved this summer despite strong interest from elsewhere.

With Matheus Nunes arriving in a club-record £38m move, Lage now has two superb midfielders at his disposal - compatriots who could dovetail with one another for the foreseeable future - and it would be a shame to see their partnership being broken up so early.

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Neves have been hailed as 'fantastic' by Jose Sa - rightly so, given his tally of 24 goals and 12 assists in 215 appearances for Wolves - and the hope at Molineux will be that Chelsea sign De Jong and end their interest in the Portuguese stalwart.