Arsenal or Manchester United could be able to secure the signing of Ruben Neves if either of them is ready to meet Wolves’ demands.
The two clubs have been heavily linked with the midfielder this month and as per The Sun, Wolves are not ready to accept anything lower than £40m.
Man United have had their eyes on Ruben Neves for more than a year and now that Ralf Rangnick is in charge, the club are finally trying hard to bring him in.
Arsenal are also floating on a similar boat where they need reinforcements so they can make that final push for a top-four finish in the Premier League and Mikel Arteta is currently looking at the Wolves man as the long-term replacement for Granit Xhaka.
Will Wolves be ready to part ways with Ruben Neves in the next few days?
The transfer window shuts down on January 31 but the Molineux outfit are in no hurry to cash in on Ruben Neves. The Portuguese still has two more years left on his current deal so Wolves are certainly not going to hit the panic button during the middle of the season
Some rumours are also claiming that Wolves might be ready to let Neves leave but their management is also confident that neither Man United nor Arsenal going to match their demands. Neves’ current market value is £36 million so demands of around £40 million are very much fair from the Molineux side.
Wolves have just seen Adama Traore join Barcelona on a loan deal which is why we don’t think their manager will be too eager to let Ruben Neves move out as well.
Will Arsenal or Man United be ready to pay £40M for Ruben Neves?
At the start of this month, Manchester United were optimistic that Wolves will agree to sell the midfielder for a fee of £35 million but that’s clearly not going to happen.
Arsenal have long-term midfield targets – Ruben Neves was considered as a possible replacement for Granit Xhaka last summer & his performances for Wolves this season have done little to dissuade the club of their interest. [@TheAthleticUK] #afc pic.twitter.com/CB8lRStxl0
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) January 25, 2022
And we seriously doubt if the United management is going to sanction a £40m move during the middle of the season.
Arsenal though are ready to spend money in the coming days but they still need to bring in a centre-forward so the Gunners will have to tread really carefully.
They have already lost Dusan Vlahovic to Juventus and their other targets also have some heavy price tags on them. Arteta will have to very tactfully use his funds because he does not have enough funds to splash £40 million on Ruben Neves and then go on to sign a striker for another £50-60 million.
Arsenal or Man United: Who needs the midfielder more?
In terms of squad depth, both United and Arsenal have several central midfielders in their squad but none of them are as talented as Ruben Neves.
United 'interested' in Ruben Neves before deadline day #mufc https://t.co/1vqxE8P68q pic.twitter.com/paesUp7SQL
— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) January 28, 2022
United have been using the duo of Fred and McTominay as their double pivot in midfield this season but there’s no way this duo is going to help them move ahead in Europe this season. If United are to progress to the latter stages of the UCL then they badly need an upgrade in that area of the pitch.
Arsenal also have the likes of Lokonga and Granit Xhaka but there’s no denying that someone like the Wolves man will be the perfect partner for Thomas Partey.
The Gunners have seen a dip in form over the past few weeks and there’s a fear that they might be running out of steam. In such a scenario, the injection of a Ruben Neves could once again help reignite their push for a top-four finish.
Manchester United, on the other hand, has been more or less stable under their interim boss so even if they fail to sign the Wolves midfielder, they can still make a decent fight for a Champions League spot next season.
