Ruben Neves shocked everyone by leaving the Premier League and joining Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League but as per reports, the midfielder wants to return to England.
Neves joined Wolves in 2017 and he played more than 250 games for the club. He was one of the best midfielders in the EPL which is why it was shocking to see him leave for the Middle East at the age of 26.
This season, he’s played 12 matches for Al Hilal and has only one goal involvement. As per the rumours, Ruben Neves wants to return to the Premier League with Arsenal and Newcastle United are the two possible destinations.
With Thomas Partey being constantly injured, Arsenal are looking for a new central midfielder and if someone like Ruben Neves is available then it will be a big boost for Mikel Arteta’s transfer plans.
Partey is a long-term absentee with a muscle injury and the Gunners are ready to offload him but signing Neves in his place won’t be a walk in the park.
Newcastle United are owned by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund who also control Al Hilal which is why everyone thinks the Magpies are the favourites to land Ruben Neves. A loan move back to England will not be hard for either of the two Saudi-backed clubs.
Arsenal have reinvented themselves under Mikel Arteta and if Partey is leaving in January, Neves will be a superb alternative. Neves is a world-class central midfielder and because of his age, the Portugal international still has five to six good seasons in him.
They have brought in Declan Rice in the summer but Arteta wants to get rid of Partey in January while Jorginho will also leave at the end of this season. In such a scenario, Ruben Neves will face no competition at the Emirates Stadium as he will be a regular starter every matchweek.
The Gunners are also monitoring players like Douglas Luiz and Benfica’s Joao Neves but if Neves is up for sale then Arsenal will definitely make a formal move. NUFC will also want to join this transfer race but currently, the EPL clubs are trying to ban clubs owned by the same entity from loaning players amongst each other.
If this rule is passed then Newcastle won’t be able to land Ruben Neves in January, automatically making Arsenal the favourites.
