Journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed that Wolves remain in the driving seat in terms of Ruben Neves’ future.
Neves has been linked with a move away from Molineux, but there have also been reports that Wolves are attempting to tie him down to a new deal. The Portuguese midfielder signed for Wolves in 2017 from FC Porto for around £16m.
Neves has been a mainstay in the Wolves midfield since he signed for the club, making 207 appearances in all competitions, whilst scoring 24 goals and registering 12 assists.
Despite the heavy links of Neves leaving Wolves in the summer, O’Rourke spoke to GiveMeSport and highlighted that Bruno Lage is still in the driving seat in terms of keeping his star man.
He said: “I think Wolves are still in a good position. It would take a big-money offer for them to consider selling him right now. You’re probably talking about £50million-plus.”
Do you think Ruben Neves will stay at Wolves next season?Yes
No
|
TIF Thoughts on Pete O’Rourke’s comments…
If Neves is set to be worth around the £50m figure, he has certainly done his chances of being worthy of that fee no harm judgin by some of his stats this season. In the Premier League this term, he has the highest average player rating (7.2), the joint second-highest amount of goal contributions (6) and has the second-highest amount of accurate passes per game (50) at Wolves, as per SofaScore.
Wolves currently sit 8th in the Premier League, but have a game in hand over West Ham United who sit in 7th and are just three points behind them, so they still have a chance of qualifying for the Europa League ahead of next season.
If Wolves can achieve Europa League status for next season, their chances of keeping Neves could increase massively because he is at the level that should be playing in the best competitions in world football based on O’Rourke’s valuation, so it could indeed be a win-win situation of sorts for Lage’s side.