According to Sport, Wolves playmaker Ruben Neves now wants to join Barcelona, despite interest from Arsenal and Tottenham.
What’s the story?
Well, this is bad news for Arsenal and Tottenham.
Sport believe Neves dreams of playing for Barcelona, and would love to team up with Xavi at the Camp Nou.
This updates comes after Sky Sports revealed that the Portugal international is a top target for Arsenal this summer.
Elsewhere, it was 90min who claimed that Tottenham are keen to bring Neves to N17.
It has been said that Wolves are open to selling their £58,000-a-week maestro, as Bruno Lage looks to strengthen other areas of his squad.
Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte also face competition from Manchester United, who have been offered the chance to sign the 25-year-old.
So far this season, Neves has scored four goals in 32 appearances across all competitions, while also providing two assists.
Arsenal & Tottenham have a battle on their hands
In our view, the pair of north London-based clubs will find it difficult to sign Neves this summer.
For one, Wolves have slapped a £100m price tag on their No.8’s head, so it will be tough to agree a fee with the Premier League outfit.
Furthermore, Arteta and Conte now have to convince Neves to ignore the lure of Barcelona, which will prove to be another difficult task.
The opportunity to play for one of Europe’s giants, under a former midfielder who can teach him so much in Xavi, will be hard for Neves to ignore.
There is also the presence of Manchester United, who supposedly have £200m to spend on a rebuild under Erik ten Hag, according to Sky Sports.
Lage recently suggested he’d take £80m if not £100m, and with a distinct lack of quality midfield options at Old Trafford, the Red Devils could well decide to pay the asking price.
With all things considered, we’d be very surprised to see Neves playing in north London next season.
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