Manchester City Opinion: Why Man City should sign Ruben Neves?
According to last month’s report from the Express, Manchester United are interested in signing Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves.
The Portuguese, 21, moved to Molineux from FC Porto for £15.8m in July 2017 and played a key role in the team’s Championship title triumph last season.
Ruben Neves has been excellent for Wolves in the Premier League as Nuno Espirito Santo’s team lie seventh in the table. And the 21-year-old polished his credentials with a brilliant display in the 2-1 FA Cup quarter-finals victory over Manchester United last week.
With the midfielder making the step up to the Premier League without much fuss, Manchester City should beat their arch-rivals Manchester United to the signature of Neves, who is valued at £100million by Wolves, adds the report.
Manchester City remain in the hunt for quadruple this season after Pep Guardiola’s side produced a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Swansea City in the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend.
The win at Swansea demonstrated City’s squad depth, with the likes of Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling coming off the bench to guide Guardiola’s men into the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
The Cityzens have an embarrassment of attacking riches in their squad but come summer, Guardiola should solidify his midfield options by bringing in a replacement for Fernandinho.
Fernandinho is the heartbeat of this City team but he is set to turn 34 in May. Hence, the Brazilian will need a replacement soon and Ruben Neves could be the solution to Guardiola’s long-standing concern.
Neves plays the role of an anchor in Nuno’s system at Wolves and excels in setting up attacks and breaking the opposition’s play from the base of the midfield. He is fantastic in intercepting play with his tacking and ball-retention skills, whilst possessing the ability to pick a pass.
The Portuguese midfielder is blessed with a sublime range of passing, something very few midfielders have in and around his age group across Europe.
The 21-year-old is a tenacious customer in the middle of the park and an excellent long-range shooter. He is a reliable free-kick taker and could beat his opponents from a long distance.
A wonderful passer of the ball, the technically-gifted Portuguese has what it takes to replace Fernandinho on the long run for the defending Premier League champions.
Verdict
Replacing Fernandinho, however, has proven to be an extremely hard task, irrelevant of how much money Guardiola has at his disposal. Neves could finally be the man City need despite having a lot of room to improve.
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