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Juventus Reportedly Eyeing January Transfer Move for Wolves Star Ruben Neves
November 22, 2018
Juventus are reportedly considering making a January move for Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves.
According to Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia), Bianconeri sporting director Fabio Paratici met with the 21-year-old's agent, Jorge Mendes, on Wednesday to discuss the player, and club president Andrea Agnelli was also present.
Neves is in his second season with Wolves. He played a key role in their promotion from the Championship to the Premier League last term.
The Portugal international's career has taken a different route than many expected when he emerged as one of Porto's most exciting young players four years ago.
In October 2015, aged 18, he became the youngest player to captain a team in a UEFA Champions League match, and he was duly linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea in Portuguese newspaper Record (via Sport).
However, his form deserted him, and he ended up at Wolves, in no small part due to Mendes' influence with the club's owner, Fosun.
Away from the spotlight Neves has rebuilt his reputation as an accomplished central midfielder.
He boasts excellent defensive attributes, has a superb passing range and is more than capable of finding the net from distance:
Neves has seamlessly made the step up to the Premier League as a key part of a Wolves team that have impressed this term and sit 11th in the English top flight.
He could be an asset at Juventus and give them greater squad depth. Meanwhile, he is still young, so he could be a fine long-term investment for the Old Lady.
Wolves are unlikely to be keen to lose arguably their best player, especially in the middle of their first season back in the Premier League.
But Neves will likely command a significant transfer fee, certainly more than the £15.8 million Wolves paid for him, which may be too good to turn down.