Arsenal now face a major battle in the race to sign Ruben Neves after Manchester United made the Wolverhampton Wanderers star a top target.
The Sun reported in March that Mikel Arteta views Neves as being an absolutely key signing to take Arsenal to the next level.
Neves would seemingly be eyed up to play next to Thomas Partey in midfield with his playmaking and technical ability potentially perfect for Arteta.
Neves, 25, is now nearing the final two years of his contract at Wolves and this summer may be the time to sell for a huge fee.
Yet if Arsenal had real hope of striking a deal with Wolves, their dreams could now be dashed.
That’s because The Sun claim that Erik ten Hag will make Neves one of his top transfer targets after becoming Manchester United boss.
Ajax manager Ten Hag looks set to take the reins at Old Trafford and is allegedly seeing Neves as a top target having admired him for a long time.
United absolutely need to bolster their midfield options and could go for Neves in a £40million move.
United allegedly fancied Neves in January but couldn’t strike a deal, with Ten Hag’s admiration only likely to accelerate their move.
Hailed as ‘sensational’ by Gary Neville, Neves has been highly rated at Wolves for a long time; this summer will be five years since he made the move to Molineux.
With over 200 appearances for Wolves, Neves may feel that the time is right for a new challenge, leaving to ponder Arsenal or United.
Arsenal look more likely to have Champions League football in the near future but you can’t overlook the importance of Cristiano Ronaldo to any Portuguese player.
The chance to follow in Ronaldo’s footsteps may be appealing to Neves, which would leave Arsenal a little concerned.
Ten Hag’s appointment isn’t done yet, but it sounds like he already has plans to try and challenge Arsenal for a huge summer signing.
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