Ruben Neves

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Let's be realistic. If Man Utd came in with an offer in the summer, he'd be off. The best we can hope for is that he wants to give us a year in the Prem and then we sell him for nice profit in the summer of 2019.

I'm very keen on the idea of getting a nice, new Neves '8' shirt before heading to Lisbon & Porto at the end of August so hopefully he's still playing for us!

 

[lemonjelly]

Neves signed, rather than we got in on loan like Jota or Boly. A big influence was Nuno on this decision. Nuno may well have advised Neves he wanted to build a team around him.

We have no desire to sell, surely. Neves appears to be happy with the club, and having easily faced the challenge of moving to the championship, he now has a fresh and bigger challenge after the world cup, to really show the world what he can do in the premier league. I can't help but feel that the confirmation Jota will sign on a permanent in the summer was a further statement of intent, and a signal to the likes of Neves, Boly etc. That's without considering the other signings we will no doubt make.

Neves will be here for at least 1 season, unless we receive a batshit mental offer. Growing Wolves is a fosun ideal, but it is equally beneficial to Mendes also, so he's not likely to be causing disruption behind the scenes.

We do however need to sign cover for him in the PL. We've seen the impact when Neves has been missing.

We also need to continue developing players like MGW.

 

[Jinky]

You don’t build what we are trying to build, by selling your best player.

He will be our player next season and he will be an intregal part of our plans moving forward. Certainly doesn’t seem like the kind of character to kick up a fuss about leaving either.

Of course with his performances this discussion is going to happen, but he won’t be going anywhere next season.

 

[Tom Hark]

Mendes/Nuno is the only reason he's here, and I think he'll follow their advice next year. We'll have no trouble competing on wages. I just hope Mendes can resist the lure of the commission he'll generate and that Ruben can resist the lure of an immediate return to CL football. He could be the lynch-pin of something huge here, if things go to plan. He doesn't seem the type to have his head turned (though that's not the same thing as making the best career move). I'd expect him to give us half a season at least, to see how well the plan is working. And if we're able to bring in players of similar calibre during the close season, he'll be even less likely to want away.

 

[Wolvensam]

I'm undoubtedly naive, but I can't see him wanting to uproot his young family after signing what: a five year deal here last summer?

 

[pr0sl0]

You don’t build what we are trying to build, by selling your best player.

There is one exception to this - where the fee is so high it allows you to achieve a net improvement the overall quality of the squad with other players coming in, and especially where it might help with any potential FFP-like rules. You could argue that Spurs selling Bale was a net-positive for them in terms of their stature since, for example, even if the summer they sold him their transfer record wasn't *that* good.

That's almost certainly going to be a part of our strategy for boosting, in the short-term, revenue. Get in high-potential players like Neves and Jota on relatively low fees using our connections, have them for a couple of years, sell at a massive profit, and then bring in another bunch of young players of equally high potential for similarly relatively low fees. We don't have to sell, but it might make hard-nosed business sense when looking at the overall value of the team as an asset, and Fosun are hard-nosed business people.

I don't think he's a big enough asset for this to happen yet, though. As others have pointed out, our current financial situation means we shouldn't have any problems bringing in a lot of good quality players over the summer. It's the season after that where we might start having to accept losing a Neves to get the overall squad to the next stage, I think.

 

[Jinky]

Also, just to follow up on my previous comment, to suggest he'd leave is to ignore everything you/we know regards the relationship between Fosun, Jorge Mendes, Gestifute, Nuno & the player himself. To suggest he'd leave is to ignore the fact if all he wanted was Champions League football, he would have stayed at Porto and not made the move to England & the Championship.

He has been sold the vision by Fosun and Nuno. Same as Jota, Boly etc. These players have been brought in based not only on their football ability, but their character.

We are building something special here, I think everyone realises that. Selling Ruben Neves for a quick buck makes no sense on any level. That's before you consider no top 4 club is going to pay what Fosun will realistically want until he's proven himself in the Premier League & we don't need to sell anyway. They are one of the biggest investment companies in the world. Selling Ruben Neves this summer would be like placing a bet on Wolves to win the Championship at the start of the season and cashing out after we beat 'Boro 1-0 in the first game.

There will be a lot of rumours (for both inward and outward deals) this summer, we just need to accept that. But I am absolutely certain he'll be lining up for us next season. The alternative scenario just makes no sense.

 

[LG Wolf]

He lives in what looks like a very modest apartment, no doubt rented or owned by the club, so I don't think he'll think twice about moving his family around if he needs to.

His ultimate goal is clearly to go back to Porto one day as he loves them so much. Will he want to go back there in his prime or will he be happy going back there in his thirties with potentially his best days behind him? If it's the former then he may want to fast track his career to the top before a return home.

So many variables involved in this and nobody has a clue what will happen. Either way, it's been an absolute honour to have him wear our shirt.

 

[Wolvensam]

Considering he loves Porto, we must have sold him something pretty special...

 

[darlowolf64]

He lives in what looks like a very modest apartment, no doubt rented or owned by the club, so I don't think he'll think twice about moving his family around if he needs to.

His ultimate goal is clearly to go back to Porto one day as he loves them so much. Will he want to go back there in his prime or will he be happy going back there in his thirties with potentially his best days behind him? If it's the former then he may want to fast track his career to the top before a return home.

So many variables involved in this and nobody has a clue what will happen. Either way, it's been an absolute honour to have him wear our shirt.

Porto can't afford him...

 

[LG Wolf]

Porto can't afford him...

Neither could we two years ago. Football can change very quickly.

 

[visage]

Money isn’t really an issue as Fosun aren’t going to have their heads turned unless we’re talking billions so the issue will be getting as much as we can if it becomes clear he wants to move on. How much would it cost to replace him? Certainly a bit more than we paid.

I would be more concerned if Nuno moved on because that would likely present the biggest risk to keeping Neves (and others)

Totally agree. If he leaves it wont be because of money - either transfer fee or wages - we dont need the fee, and we can match whatever anyone else offers.

It will be if another team can offer more in terms of challenge. But there isnt a big tournament next summer, and a year in a familiar club but at a higher level would seem to be a good long term move.

But if Barca, Real, PSG, City come calling, his head might be turned. But even then you'd hope Mendes would say that for a 21 year old a season staring every game in the Premier League is better than warming a bench elsewhere....

 

[Johnny75]

Totally agree. If he leaves it wont be because of money - either transfer fee or wages - we dont need the fee, and we can match whatever anyone else offers.

It will be if another team can offer more in terms of challenge. But there isnt a big tournament next summer, and a year in a familiar club but at a higher level would seem to be a good long term move.

But if Barca, Real, PSG, City come calling, his head might be turned. But even then you'd hope Mendes would say that for a 21 year old a season staring every game in the Premier League is better than warming a bench elsewhere....

I think City may be the place he goes to replace Fernandinho and he'd play a lot. I agree with you that it won't be money but the promise of titles and cups that enable him to make the move. I wouldn't begrudge anybody that.

As to the age thing, Sane was 20 when he went to City, Bale 19 for his move to Spurs and Ronaldo was a mere 17 when he moved to United.

 

[Keef]

Who won't be in the Champions League. Why would he go anywhere unless they could offer Champions League football?

Dunno,it just struck me as a good fit,dump wenger finally,rebuild,then go for it

 

[Tony Towner]

Who won't be in the Champions League. Why would he go anywhere unless they could offer Champions League football?

They are four games away from being so.

Unless he has a wonderful World Cup Top 6 clubs won't be interested at the price we'd want until he's played in the Prem and he won't go to anyone below that. I'm fairly confident he's here until January at the earliest

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Arsenal can still get into the CL for next year anyway.

 

[Boozad]

I’ve said it before and I’ll stand by it; Neves won’t be going anywhere in the foreseeable future. He obviously bought into our long game (which is now shorter than first planned) and you can tell he loves it here. If Fosun went out and bought players like Neves to keep Costa here, just think who they’ll buy to keep Neves here. We’re certainly not going to be struggling at the wrong end of the table next season.

And he’s only 21 so while CL football is the ultimate goal he doesn’t NEED it right at this moment, he’s got plenty of time. If I’m two years we’re not up there challenging to be in the CL then yes he’ll be off, but in the meantime I think he’s going to stick around to do his damndest to get us there.

Then there’s Nuno, he was pivotal in getting Neves to join and he’s turned him from a bit part player into the jewel in the crown, the main man, the first name on the team sheet. Now it’s time to take it up a level and I reckon Ruben’s heart is right in it.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Nuno is probably the key to this issue - a number of the players we want to retain seem to be here as a (partial) result of his influence and as long as he stays then think that Neves will (at least for the next year - after that who knows, depends how he performs I suspect)

Nuno is only 1 year into a 3 year contract, but can see him being offered another now with enhanced terms

 

[The Bear]

Nuno is still the most important piece of the puzzle, as good as Neves is.

 

[lemonjelly]

Neves loving life at wolves, and will be here next season:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/16/wolves-count-their-blessings-after-promotion-gamble-pays-off-quickly

I suppose of note he states he wants to stay for his first year in the PL...

edit also:

That win was their 29th of the season and Kevin Thelwell, the club’s sporting director, believes Nuno Espírito Santo deserves enormous credit. “There’s 101 reasons why we have got promoted but the main reason is Nuno,”