Manchester United In Pole Position To Sign Bruno Fernandes' Star Teammate This Summer: Report

Manchester United are reportedly in pole position to sign Wolves midfielder Rubem Neves in the underway summer window.

Arsenal, who have been heavily linked with Neves in the last few weeks, have fallen behind Manchester United in the race to sign the Wolves midfielder, who is Bruno Fernandes’ Portugal teammate, reported sports media outlet talkSport.

Neves, who is contracted with Wolves until 2024, has been labeled with an asking price of around $48 million, according to The Athletic. The value is lesser than his current market value that is around $50 million.

While Arsenal are looking for an ideal replacement for Granit Xhaka, who is set expected to join AS Roma ahead of the 2021-22 season, Manchester United want to add a midfielder irrespective of Paul Pogba’s future at Old Trafford.

"Neves is another player Mikel Arteta has been monitoring very closely, but the trail seems to have gone cold there over a move to Arsenal. Wolves have their price tag, £35m ($48m), and they’re willing to do business to try and generate some funds for their new manager Bruno Lage. Liverpool were mentioned to me, but there’s definite interest from Manchester United. Ruben Neves is a Portuguese teammate of Bruno Fernandes and he is actively trying to push Neves towards Old Trafford. They do want another midfielder regardless of Paul Pogba’s future at the club," talkSport’s transfer specialist Alex Crook said.

Neves joined Porto’s youth system as an eight-year-old. He rose through the ranks and made his senior debut with the Primeira Liga club during the 2014-15 season. He played three full seasons at Porto, scoring four goals in as many as 93 matches, across all competitions.

In the summer of 2017, Neves made a $22 million move from Porto to Wolves. He played in the second-tier competition in England, The Championship, in his debut season at Wolves. He netted six goals and made an assist in 42 league matches and helped Wolves get promoted back into the Premier League. Since then, he has been a regular face in the Wolves’ squad.

In a total of four seasons at Wolves, Neves has made 176 competitive appearances, scoring 20 goals and proving 10 assists.