Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - March 18, 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Ruben Neves during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Craig Brough EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crook has delivered a significant verdict on the future of Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves.
The lowdown: Wanted man
A transfer target for Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester United as well as La Liga giants Barcelona, Neves could be set to be at the centre of a prolonged bidding war this summer.
This comes after the 25-year-old himself suggested that a five-year spell at Molineux could be coming to an end after the 2021/22 campaign in order to ‘live his football dreams’ away from the Midlands club.
Despite the apparent desire to move on swiftly, Neves – who was lauded by journalist Ryan Leister for a ‘magnificent’ display over Burton Albion in 2018 and has kept that form up ever since – is yet to attract the offers that the Wolves hierarchy would deem suitable to sanction the departure of its £36million valued prized asset.
The latest: Fosun open to selling
Albeit no such bids have been forthcoming and the main protagonists for the capture, Barcelona, remain in a financial conundrum, Crook has told Give Me Sport that the exit remains inevitable and club chiefs are even ‘open’ to it.
He said: “I think they’re going to lose Ruben Neves; they’re resigned to that.
“They’re going to get decent money, and I think they’re almost open to it because the owners want them to be self-sufficient, so they’re not just going to pump money in. If they sell Neves, it will allow them to sign a couple of players – Palhinha would be one.”
The verdict: Sooner the better
If indeed Neves is destined to no longer represent the Old Gold next season, something he has done with rich acclaim on 212 occasions until now, all parties should want the situation resolved as swiftly as possible in order to get their own ducks in a row as an early pre-season looms.
For Wolves and Bruno Lage, the framework after the sale will be to find a successor, with Matheus Nunes and the aforementioned Joao Palhinha seemingly the frontrunners to be tasked with filling the boots of the Portugal international.
That said, given Neves’ importance and continued output at the top level, Fosun will not be held to ransom over their 30-cap man and will hold out for what they believe to be a fair price for the cultured midfielder.
In other news, one player has reportedly edged closer to a move to Wolves. Find out who it is here.
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