Wolves star “crazy” to join Spanish giants

Jorge Mendes has reportedly been working hard ‘for months’ on a transfer deal to get Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves a move to Barcelona.

The Portuguese agent is ‘working to make’ the deal a ‘reality’ for the La Liga club in the summer, according to Spanish outlet Sport via Sport Witness. Barça are ‘willing to study carefully’ the possibility of signing the 25-year-old.

The report adds that the Spanish giants had initially disregarded Neves as a potential transfer target, but the side’s recent poor form has caused them to rethink their strategy. They are also aware that club hero Sergio Busquets will need to be replaced sooner or later.

Neves’ performances have been ‘convincing Barça’s sports management and Xavi for months’ that he is a player worth pursuing in the transfer window. There is apparently a ‘complete consensus’ between the club’s hierarchy and the management when it comes to the midfielder.

The report claims that Neves is willing to make the move to Spain, saying that he is ‘crazy to join’ Barcelona. Meanwhile, they also say that Wolves are ‘very interested’ in a number of Barcelona players, none of which are named in the report.

It would take a massive transfer bid and potentially players going to Molineux to convince Wolves to sell their biggest asset to the Camp Nou outfit. Whether Barcelona can actually afford such a deal, in terms of transfer fee and wages, is another question that needs to be answered.

Neves’ contract expires in 2024 and this summer represents possibly the last chance the club will get to command a big fee for the player. Ideally, of course, they would want to tie him down to a long-term deal to keep him at Wolves.