Journalist Dean Jones has backed Wolves to keep hold of Ruben Neves despite their rocky start to the campaign.
Jones spoke to This Is Futbol about the direction of the club and the risk of losing Neves under former manager Bruno Lage.
Wolves recently appointed Julen Lopetegui as their new manager, and having managed a number of top sides including Sevilla, Real Madrid, Porto and Spain, he boasts a rather impressive managerial CV.
Last summer, there were reports of Ruben Neves potentially leaving the club, but the midfielder ended up staying at Molineux.
However, they’ve endured a poor start to the season. They head into the World Cup break bottom of the Premier League, with only two wins since the campaign began.
But Jones believes things are looking up for Wolves, and speaking prior to their defeat to Arsenal, the journalist felt the Old Gold will be in a much better place and capable of retaining Neves’ services ‘for now’.
He said: “It’s a relief that they are moving in the right direction. The Lage era just wasn’t good enough, and there was a chance they were risking losing players like Ruben Neves, but for now, I think they’ll be fine.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
We believe there are definitely reasons for there to be optimism around Molineux. They have started poorly, but there’s still a long way to go this season.
Neves is someone who can be a gamechanger for Wolves, as he’s arguably their best player. The 25-year-old currently has the best average rating of any Wolves player on Sofascore with an average rating of 7.29.
The arrival of Lopetegui is a chance for an injection of fresh ideas into the dressing room. If he can get the best out of his current players and get some new players through the door in January, Wolves can easily climb their way out of the relegation zone.
Neves could be instrumental in the midfield. The goals he’s scored for the club have often been first-class. However, he’s more than just someone who can score screamers. His heatmap last season shows he’s a player that is everywhere across the pitch, which is why it’s so important that Lopetegui can get the best out of the Portugal ace, as if he ticks, so do Wolves.