Manchester City Transfer News: £60M Ruben Neves January Move Rumoured

Manchester City are reportedly ready to make a move for £60 million-rated Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves in January after missing out on Jorginho in the summer.

The Sun (h/t Daily Star's Marc Williams) reported City are ready to spend funds on Neves that they would have splashed on Jorginho, who instead opted to reunite with Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.

Neves is contracted at Wolves until 2023, but the prospect of joining City one season after playing a leading hand in Wolves' promotion from the Championship could be too tempting for the former Porto ace to turn down.

City manager Pep Guardiola might be all the more tempted to spend money on a new central midfielder depending on how his side cope in the next three months, for which they'll be without injured talisman Kevin De Bruyne:

Neves, 21, would bring the added benefit of being available for European competition—provided City are still in Europe past the group stage—though it seems Wolves are demanding a premium price for their Portuguese puppeteer.

City were beaten to Jorginho's signature after being led to believe they had their hands on him, and Guardiola decided not to invest in an alternative.

Neves has made a lightning-fast start to life in the Premier League and has one goal and an assist to his name in his first two top-flight outings, perhaps encouraging City to believe he's of the desired standard.

The youngster dazzled in his Premier League debut, a 2-2 draw against Everton, and Sky Sports Statto celebrated his long-range mastery after he swooped in a superb free-kick:

Neves only netted six times in 42 league appearances last season, but they tended to come in close-run matches, including 1-0 winners against Sheffield Wednesday and fellow promoted outfit Cardiff City.

The Portugal international, who became the youngest player to start as captain in a UEFA Champions League match with Porto in 2015, has earned the affection of host Jimmy Conrad:

One could argue the player resembles De Bruyne in some of his playing characteristics, capable of threading the needle to ignite quick attacks or posing a threat on goal himself, with deceptive strength in his arsenal, too.

Wolves will attempt to convince their star to at least see out the first year of their revival run in the Premier League, but already the west Midlands club are finding out the perils that come with top-flight success.