Football London journalist Chris Wheatley has had his say on rumours linking Wolverhampton Wanderers star Ruben Neves with a move to Arsenal this summer.
The Times revealed last month that the Portuguese international is on Mikel Arteta’s radar. Arsenal are set to lose Granit Xhaka this month and many feel that Neves would be an excellent replacement for the Swiss international.
The report claimed that the midfielder would cost Arsenal a fee in the region of £34 million. That is very affordable for the Gunners, but if Wheatley is to be believed, there’s nothing going on between the two parties.
Ruben Neves to Arsenal links are not accurate
The Arsenal correspondent claims that Arteta is a fan of Neves, but there has been no contact whatsoever, and the rumours are being driven by the Wolves star’s agent Jorge Mendes, not Arsenal.
Wheatley told Football London on Periscope: “In terms of Ruben Neves, look, those links came out a few weeks ago, and I haven’t heard anything since. From what I know and from just kind of looking at the situation, it looks like this is an agent-led link.
“He’s with Jorge Mendes, who is one of the biggest agents in the world, and I think he’s trying to get his client a big summer move to somewhere like Arsenal, who would probably be able to pay him a bigger salary than he’s on at Wolves.
“But look, I don’t think that’s one that is likely to happen, but clearly Arsenal like the player, so you can’t really rule it out. Sorry if I’m covering all bases there, but that’s the situation. He’s a player Mikel Arteta likes.”
The Insider’s View:
Neves is undoubtedly a quality player and it is no surprise that Arteta likes him. However, this is something his agent, Mendes, has done time and time again in the past, and that has helped many of his clients secure big moves.
Edu has a history of working with super-agents and it won’t be a surprise to see him give Mendes a ring if we’re really interested. However, at this moment in time, Arsenal are exploring other possibilities and Neves is not an option.
Read more: Edu has agreed to triple player’s wages to secure Arsenal transfer
The Portuguese international would, in ways, be a like-for-like replacement for Xhaka. Arsenal now have to decide if they want to replace the Swiss international or evolve in that position by signing someone who is more dynamic and is better defensively.
We think it should be the latter and Brighton star Yves Bissouma would be perfect.
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