Arsenal and Manchester United face a battle to sign Ruben Neves with Wolves now determined not to lose the £45m-rated midfielder this month, according to The Sun.
Neves has developed into one of the best all-round midfielders in the Premier League since joining Wolves from Porto in 2017 and he’s considered to be an invaluable member of Bruno Lage’s squad.
The 24-year-old’s impressive form has attracted interest from the upper echelons of the division with Arsenal and Manchester United both showing a keen interest in signing Neves.
The Sun says Man Utd hoped to sign the Portuguese international for around £35m this month as Ralf Rangnick looks to strengthen his options in midfield with Paul Pogba still struggling with a thigh injury.
Donny van de Beek is also being linked with a move away from Old Trafford during the latter stages of the window so United have been on the look out for a midfielder and Neves is seemingly on their radar.
Arsenal have also been strongly linked with the Portuguese star and Corriere dello Sport claimed on Thursday that the Gunners have held talks over a possible deal to sign Neves before the window slams shut.
Mikel Arteta is desperately trying to strengthen his ranks to help boost Arsenal’s hopes of finishing in the top four and it looks like the north Londoners have turned their attention to Neves after failing to agree terms with Juventus over a deal for Arthur.
The Sun says Wolves would demand around £45m in order to cash-in on the midfielder and that sounds like a reasonable price to pay for a player of Neves’ quality and potential.
However, it looks like Man Utd and Arsenal now face a battle to land Neves this month as the paper says the Midlands club are determined to hold on to the player until at least the summer.
With only days left until the window closes, time is running out for Wolves to find a suitable replacement so The Sun says it would need an ‘extraordinary’ offer to persuade them to sell Neves this month.
We’ll have to wait and see whether Arsenal or United test Wolves’ resolve with a firm offer over the coming days but it looks increasingly likely that Neves will be staying at Molineux until the end of the season.
