Ruben Neves, Wolves Agree to 5-Year Contract After Porto Transfer Completed

Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers completed the signing of central midfielder Ruben Neves from Porto on Saturday, with the 20-year-old penning a five-year deal at Molineux Stadium.

The club's official Twitter account confirmed the move for the Portuguese Neves, who emerged from the youth ranks at Porto:

"I'm very excited to play at this club," Neves said, per the club's official website. "It is a very big club and I hope to help the team to win their goals. I have always wanted to play in England and we have a good team. I think we can do good things this season."

Per BBC Sport, the close relationship between Wolves owners Fosun and Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes is believed to have played a role in the club landing such a marquee player.

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo was also in charge at Porto for the 2016-17 season.

The New York Times' Rory Smith expressed his views on the transfer ahead of its completion:

When Neves was emerging as a teenager with huge potential early in the 2015-16 season, he was linked with Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as Premier League champions Chelsea, per Portuguese outlet Record (via Sport).

He broke a number of records early in his senior career at Porto, including becoming Porto's youngest goalscorer and the youngest-ever player to captain a side in the UEFA Champions League—against Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2015.

A Portugal international, Neves' progress has stalled somewhat recently, and Portuguese football writer Jan Hagen believes the switch to Wolves could benefit him.

He is, however, too good a player to be satisfied with Championship football for much more than a single season.

Neves' addition to the Wolves squad boosts their chances of promotion to the Premier League in 2017-18 considerably.

But given they finished 15th in the Championship in 2016-17—just seven points clear of relegation—they will need to show huge improvement fast.