Wolves journalist Liam Keen has given his thoughts on the future of Ruben Neves following claims surrounding his future.
Whilst the Portuguese midfielder has been an important member of the Wolves side over the past few years since his arrival in 2017, racking up 195 appearances in which he has scored 21 goals and chipped in with 11 assists, his future at the club has been brought into doubt in recent months.
Recent reports have suggested that Chelsea are looking to sign him, whilst both Manchester clubs were also reportedly showing an interest in him last summer. Another recent claim has also suggested that Manchester United are maintaining their interest during this January transfer window.
Speaking on the latest edition of the E&S Wolves podcast, Keen was asked a question by host Nathan Judah about Neves’ future and whether qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League – something Bruno Lage’s men are in with a shout of – would be enough to keep him at the club, or if the club would need to qualify for the Europa League or Champions League instead, to which he gave this response:
“I would just say a yes, just about, because I think the type of player Neves is and the type of character he is, I think he’s very settled, feels very at home and is enjoying his football at Wolves. I think if Wolves were to get the Conference League, I think that would be enough for next season, just.”
TIF Thoughts on Liam Keen’s comments about Ruben Neves and Wolves…
Will Neves leave in January?
Yes
No
It certainly will be interesting to keep track of Neves moving forward, because based on the clubs that are showing an interest in him, it seems as if he is destined to move to a club bigger than Wolves at some point in the future and it’s just a case of when not if.
So Wolves may need to do something drastic to try and hold onto him for as long as they can, and that may well be having to qualify for the Europa League rather than the Europa Conference League just to at least try and establish themselves as a bigger side that can reach Europe on a consistent basis.
But if they can’t and he does move on, then there can’t be many complaints from Wolves fans about it. He’s given them years of excellent service, playing a big role in getting them to where they are now, and there shouldn’t be any ill feeling about it, especially if they are able to grab a big fee for him to reinvest into the rest of the squad.
In other news: ‘I’m quite intrigued’ – Azzopardi shocked after confirmed Wolves decision