Wolves twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Everton in their first Premier League game of the season, and BBC pundit Garth Crooks has singled out Ruben Neves for praise.
The midfielder scored the first Wolves goal in the 44th minute and then set-up Raul Jimenez for the goal that ensured the spoils would be shared at Molineux on Saturday.
Writing in his column on the BBC website, Crooks said that Neves was “sensational” and that he has the “world at his feet.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Molineux look as excited at the prospect of top-flight football as it was in the minutes prior to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ opening Premier League fixture against Everton,” Crooks said.
“The place was jumping, probably in anticipation of Neves’ performance. The Portugal international didn’t disappoint either. He was sensational, and at the tender age of 21 he has the world at his feet.
“Needless to say, if he can keep Wolves up, then Barcelona or Real Madrid are bound to come knocking. Not even the most ardent Wolves fan could expect the player to remain in the West Midlands if that was the case.”
OPINION
Wolves fans will love what Crooks has had to say about Neves, who lit up Molineux on Saturday. Everyone thought that he would cope easily with the step-up to the Premier League, but few predicted he would have such an immediate and electric impact. He almost single-handedly ensured that Wolves got a point from the game and it won’t be long before Neves is on the radar of some of Europe’s bigger clubs. Crooks has already predicted that Barcelona and Real Madrid will come calling, and when they do you can imagine that Neves will command a higher fee than the £16million they paid to sign him from Porto. That’s a huge amount of money for a Championship club to spend but it’s now looking a snip, and it showed how high Wolves’ ambitions were at the start of last season. Wolves travel to Leicester next before Neves gets a chance to show what he can do against the best team in the Premier League as his side host Man City on August 25.