Manchester United became a little less Portuguese when they sacked head coach Ruben Amorim earlier this month but the Red Devils’ pursuit of Ruben Neves is still on track, according to reports.
Man United beat rivals Manchester City in their first match under the interim leadership of former United midfielder Michael Carrick on Saturday, re-establishing their Champions League credentials despite Amorim’s disappointing results in the first half of the Premier League season.
Now playing for Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League but out of contract at the end of the season, Neves emerged as a target for United as well as Spanish capital giants Real Madrid.
Manchester United are now favourites to sign Ruben Neves
“The Saudi club’s desire is to tie him down to a new contract,” according to AS via Sport Witness. “Should he refuse to sign an extension, they intend to sell him in the winter market.”
The 28-year-old has Premier League experience at Wolverhampton Wanderers and captained Porto in the Champions League as a teenager. In terms of pedigree, he makes a lot of sense for Premier League clubs looking for a bargain.
O Jogo reports that Neves wants to leave Saudi Arabia and doesn’t intend to agree to a new deal with Al Hilal, alerting United and Real Madrid to his availability.
“The latest claims from Spain have talked about Real Madrid as an option for the 28-year-old,” continues Sport Witness.
“A move to Madrid certainly pleases the player, but Florentino Perez is [standing] in his way. Los Blancos’ president isn’t keen on making new additions in the mid-season window.
“This gives Manchester United an easy route to sign the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man in January.”
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Neves would be a smart addition to the United midfield, especially if they can find a breakthrough and bring him in during the January transfer window.
The 63-cap Portugal international is an off-the-peg solution to a multitude of midfield failings, offering bite and creativity in the middle of the pitch and has bags of top-level matches under his belt.
He played 18 times for Porto in the Champions League but joined Wolves in the Championship at the peak of their Jorge Mendes-inspired Portuguese recruitment strategy.
Neves was a consistent performer for the West Midlands club in the second tier and then in the Premier League, where he played for five years, scored spectacular goals like they were going out of fashion and never dipped below 33 appearances in a season.
United’s midfield was the key to their Manchester derby win at the weekend. Kobbie Mainoo’s performance was the highlight and his combination with Casemiro was too much for City to handle.
