Why Manchester City should go all out to land Ruben Neves in January
As per The Sun, Manchester United have joined rivals Manchester City in the £60million race to sign 21-year-old midfielder Ruben Neves from Wolverhampton Wanderers in January. Manchester United had the last laugh earlier in January when they beat City to land Alexis Sanchez. And this year, the scenario involving Ruben Neves presents a similar picture.
Ruben Neves joined Championship side Wolves in the summer of 2017 and led them to a Championship win which confirmed their promotion to the Premier League. It was largely due to the 21-year-old’s heroics in the midfield that Wolves played one of the most attractive brands of football in England’s second-tier under manager Nuno Espirito Santos. He was one of their stars last season, with six assists and a goal.
Despite his stellar showings in the Championship, there were doubts about the extent of his abilities in the Premier League. But the Portuguese starlet has proven his critics wrong with some brilliant performances.
Neves found the top corner of the net from a curling free-kick in the first game against Everton and set up Willy Boly with a delightful cross for his team’s opening goal in the 1-1 draw to Manchester City at home. Although the goal can be deemed controversial, as television replays showed that the ball had flicked Boly’s forearm, few can undermine the quality of the cross that led to the goal. The youngster already has a goal and an assist to his name so far.
Truth be told, Neves’ acquisition should hold greater value for Manchester City than it should for United. United, despite their poor start to the season, have some quality central midfielders which include the likes of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera and Andreas Pereira. Even if Neves completes a move to Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho could find it difficult to provide him with regular minutes.
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On the other hand, signing Neves could be pivotal to City’s long-term success. Not denying the fact that City have the most formidable squad in the Premier League, some of their midfielders are on the other side of 30.
Fernandinho is already 33 and that should be a concern for Pep Guardiola, given he doesn’t have too many choices in the central midfield position. Considering Ilkay Gundogan is the only other top quality central midfielder in their ranks, City should add depth to their squad by landing Neves in January.
A player defined by technical brilliance, Neves is the ideal long-term replacement for Fernandinho. Although he can be termed as a defensive midfielder, his style of play is comparable to either Claudio Marchisio or Andrea Pirlo.
Not only can he play as a sweeper for the rearguard with his ball interception skills but he also has the ability to play as a deep-lying playmaker. He can keep the ball moving in the midfield and switch play with his impressive range of passing, making him an effective distributor of the ball in the central areas.
A set-piece specialist, Neves has the ability to find the back of the net from free-kicks outside the box and can set his teammates up with pinpoint crosses.
The youngster is unafraid to venture forward and utilize his vision to play incisive through balls to the strikers. With a perfect blend of attacking qualities and defensive nous, Neves has the potential of becoming one of the most complete midfielders in Europe.
Hence, Guardiola should do everything to beat Manchester United and land the youngster in January. United won the race for Sanchez last winter but now, City must aim to have the final say.
