Wolves manager Bruno Lage has accepted that keeping Ruben Neves at the club will be a hard task when this summer’s transfer window opens.
Neves, 25, has been a standout performer for Wolves in the Premier League ever since being promoted with the club back in 2018.
and have both been linked with a move for the Portuguese star and, while Lage hopes to keep Neves at Molineux, he is resigned to the fact that he may be powerless to stop his star midfielder from leaving.
‘From my side he knows my opinion,’ Lage said. ‘I want the best for his career. If he prefers to remain with us (at Wolves), I will for sure be happy and stronger but this is football.
‘When you see the level he is playing at. A big team comes with a better offer. We need to analyse what is better for us and the player.’
Whereas many midfield operators today are defined by either their defensive or attacking abilities, Neves is more well-rounded and this is why Lage believes big clubs are sniffing around his fellow countryman.
‘Ruben is doing a fantastic job at Wolves,’ he said. ‘It’s hard to find a player like him. A guy who can attack and defend. Normally you have guys who just attack or defend. He can do both. He can score goals and he can assist.’
Playing Champions League football will be high up in the list of priorities for Neves which is why United and Arsenal will both be hoping to make the top four.
However, former goalkeeper turned football pundit Paul Robinson thinks Neves going to United would be the wrong decision.
‘I think he is ready to play at a big club,’ Robinson told in January. ‘And at that level because he’s a top player. He needs to be playing Champions League football.
‘However, in regards to Man United I cannot see where he fits in or where he’d play. They have a lot of players who are in a similar mould do Neves.’
Since joining from FC Porto in 2017, Neves has scored 24 goals in 207 appearances for Wolves.
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