Premier League champions Manchester City have reportedly identified Ruben Neves of Wolverhampton Wanderers as a potential Fernandinho replacement.
Manchester City have made excellent use of the January transfer window in the past. Craig Bellamy, Edin Dzeko and Aymeric Laporte are among the players City have signed midway through a season.
But that does not mean Pep Guardiola is drawing up plans to spend big in the New Year.
According to ESPN, the current Premier League champions are still keen to sign a deep-lying midfielder to provide back-up to 33-year-old Fernandinho. But, the report adds, City will wait until next summer rather than go all-out in January.
This is potentially good news for Wolverhampton Wanderers – at least for the time being.
Because, ESPN adds, Ruben Neves is one of two Fernandinho successors City have identified; the other being Ajax’s 21-year-old Dutch international Frenkie de Jong.
Portugal international Neves has been a revelation at Wolves since his £15.8 million arrival from FC Porto in 2016, helping Nuno Espirito Santo’s side win the Championship title before taking to the Premier League in style.
But Neves signed a five-year deal in July, seemingly committing his future to Molineux. It remains to be seen whether his head could be turned by the prospect of working under Guardiola at the end of the campaign, however.
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