According to the Daily Mail, Wolverhampton Wanderers are now expecting Arsenal to come forward with a firm bid for Ruben Neves.
Rumours about Neves to Arsenal started emerging over the weekend, with Gunners chief Edu holding exploratory talks about a move.
Wolves are planning changes under expected new boss Bruno Lage, and selling Neves could help fund some incoming business.
Wolves anticipate Arsenal bid for Neves imminently
It’s stated that chairman Jeff Shi, technical director Scott Sellars and operations manager Matt Wild are in charge of transfers and all think an Arsenal bid is coming soon.
Wolves allegedly want a deal worth close to the £41million they sold Diogo Jota to Liverpool for in 2020, and losing Neves – branded world class by Steve Bull in 2018 – will be just as hard to take.
Whether Arsenal can meet that fee remains to be seen, but if Wolves are expecting a bid, those initial talks surely went well.
Xhaka’s replacement… in a way
Granit Xhaka is believed to be nearing a move to Roma, leaving Arsenal with a big hole to fill in Mikel Arteta’s midfield.
Neves could join Arsenal as Xhaka’s replacement, though he isn’t exactly like-for-like; Xhaka is far more combative, whilst Neves is more of a deep-lying playmaker.
That could mesh well with Thomas Partey’s style, and with Neves younger than Xhaka, Arsenal seemingly feel that he can start for years to come.
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