Manchester City reportedly fear losing out to Manchester United in the race for Ruben Neves.
According to Goal, Manchester City fear they will lose out to rivals Manchester United in the race to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves.
Neves, 21, was a star man in Wolves’ promotion-winning campaign last season, scoring six times as he more than lived up to his billing following a shock big-money move from Porto.
The midfielder may have missed out on a World Cup spot with Portugal, but he has made a superb start to life in the Premier League with Wolves, notching a goal and an assist against Everton on the opening day of the season.
With an outstanding passing range, the ability to score from distance and huge potential, Neves unsurprisingly has plenty of fans – and two clubs appear to be pursuing his signature.
Goal report that Manchester City are putting in plenty of work to sign Neves, with sporting director Txiki Begiristain meeting with agent Jorge Mendes at Wolves’ opener with Everton, whilst City have also worked with Mendes on deals for Nicolas Otamendi, Bernardo Silva and Ederson.
That would seemingly put City in a strong position to land Neves, but it’s added that they think Jose Mourinho has caught wind of their plans, and is now pushing for Mendes – who also happens to be Mourinho’s agent – to aid United’s pursuit of Neves instead of City.
Wolves would allegedly demand around £60million for Neves in 2019, whether that’s January or next summer, with the two Manchester giants seemingly willing to splash big money on the midfielder.
After seeing Alexis Sanchez and Fred sign for United, City won’t want to see another target make the move to Old Trafford, but they seemingly have fears that Mourinho’s links to Mendes may end up seeing United hijack their attempts to prise Neves away from Molineux.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
