Newcastle United have ‘accelerated’ talks to bring former Wolves captain Ruben Neves back to the Premier League on a potential loan-to-buy deal from Saudi Arabian outfit Al Hilal.
After losing Sandro Tonali to a ten-month ban, it’s probably safe to say that those with their finger on the pulse saw this one coming.
Ruben Neves to Newcastle United? In another world, this would be a transfer rumour exploding into the gossip columns like a bolt from the proverbial blue. The Portugal international is only a few months into the contract he signed at Al-Hilal after all, moving to Saudi Arabia in a £47 million deal as recently as June.
But, when you consider that both Newcastle and Al-Hilal share a common owner – the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund – reports suggesting that Neves could arrive to fill the gap created by Tonali’s absence suddenly start to make plenty of sense.
Ruben Neves to Newcastle United accelerating
After both talkSPORT and The Telegraph reported that Neves could be an option during the winter window, new reports coming out of mainland Europe are insisting that talks between the two clubs have ‘accelerated’ over the last couple of weeks.
Neves, Tuttomercatoweb add, is certainly not averse to the idea of making an immediate return to England either, with a deal likely to be an initial loan with an option or obligation to buy during the summer of 2024.
“They are going to look in the market with Tonali now banned,” former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison told Sky Sports over the weekend.
“They have been linked with Ruben Neves, who is an outstanding footballer. He is playing in the Saudi Pro League. They have the connections.”
‘An outstanding footballer’
In addition to Neves, Newcastle have also been linked with Manchester United’s box-crashing battering ram Scott McTominay. If it is a direct Tonali replacement Eddie Howe wants, however, the former feels a far better fit than the latter due to Neves’ superior technical ability and his extensive passing range from deep.
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