Neves. I don't see how Rice is worth even half that amount. He is hopeless on the ball; offers no sort of link-up play.
Ruben Neves | Signed for Al Hilal (SA)
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Neves. I don't see how Rice is worth even half that amount. He is hopeless on the ball; offers no sort of link-up play.
Statistically his defensive numbers are quite good actually. 2.4 tackles a game (more than Rice at 1.8) and the same number of interceptions and blocks per game as Rice. Gets dribbled past more times a game though (1.4 vs 0.9), which suggests Rice is quicker, and Rice is obviosly better in the air (aerials won 0.7 vs 1.4). The passing statistics are obviously substantially better for Neves, especially long balls, and he also chips in with a few goals.
Me neither... so bland and overrated
Tbh Moutinho is a great player, if he was younger i'd love to have him. No shame in being the junior player of the two
He's a bit of a gamble but being a mainstay in a normally strong wolves team in his early 20's is a decent standard. Its a pretty low risk transfer where the absolute worst it can go isn't that bad. It might end up with it being much of a muchness between him Fred and McTominay but that would be preferable in my view to needing to bring in Matic when they're injured at least. Dont go crazy with the wage offer and he'll be easy enough to move on and it isn't a huge transfer fee to claw back if it doesn't work out.
I'm not crazy about the player but I can see the logic and how he'd fit. There aren't many midfielders we've been linked with i am crazy about though so he looks one of the best options to me. Camavinga is a better muppet signing but riskier and younger, how much he can contribute right now is questionable. He looks to be a different player who might benefit from playing with Neves regardless so wouldn't let it stop me.
I'd take Neves for 35 over Rice for 35. Though it might be a decent argument at that point.
I think Saul and Goretzka are both basically midfield pressers who cover a lot of ground but arent the kind of players who can control possession. I cant see how for us that kind of player can be a priority when we have McTominay and Fred. We need someone who can really put his foot on the ball without being a defensive liability like Pogba is.
Autocorrect knowing who the culprit really is.surely he’s not been that bad
The only advantages i can see with Rice are that hes better in the air and hes quicker. Everything else, including defensively, Neves is putting up better numbers.
He'd be great next to either Fred or McT. Needs a mobile partner next to him so I only see us getting him if Pogba leaves.
-------Neves-Fred-------
Sancho-Bruno-Rash
Looks great on paper.
-------Neves-Fred-------
Sancho-Bruno-Rash
Looks great on paper.
Better in the air is a big enough deal with our record of defending set pieces. Particularly when any midfielder we bring in will probably replace McTominay who's one of our better players on that front.
No it didn't, it hit them..
Never seen Neves hit an iceberg.
Neves all day long
Neves is the right type of midfielder we should be looking at, but he really hasn't kicked on and developed as looked likely a couple of years ago. In fact he's probably gone backwards. Whether that would continue if he gets the right move elsewhere is the million dollar question.
It feels like he's been around for ages, but it should be remembered that he's actually a few months younger than McTominay. People still talk about Scott developing and improving over the next couple of seasons, so that does have to extend to Neves as well.
His midfield partner Moutinho is one I'd really like to sign if he were a few years younger. I don't know if he was just a late bloomer but it amazes me that he never played for a top club.
It feels like he's been around for ages, but it should be remembered that he's actually a few months younger than McTominay. People still talk about Scott developing and improving over the next couple of seasons, so that does have to extend to Neves as well.
His midfield partner Moutinho is one I'd really like to sign if he were a few years younger. I don't know if he was just a late bloomer but it amazes me that he never played for a top club.
I think he'd be fine next to Fred, in the same way as Jorginho is fine next to Kante. Neither Neves or Jorginho could really do it all by themselves though so you certainly wouldn't play Neves alongside Pogba and Bruno which is what some people want.
McTominay actually presses significantly less that most midfielders. Statistically he was in the bottom 20% of all midfielders in the top five leagues last season. Bottom 32% of tackles won as well. Only thing he really does well is interceptions, where he was in the 88th percentile.
To have a good double pivot instead of a badly balanced one like we have at the moment. Pogba and Bruno simply aren't suited to be in the same midfield together, so we should be looking to get a strong midfield, both on and off the ball, behind one of them (Bruno). In theory at least Fred-Neves should work well together, providing a better platform for our attacking players to build off that what we currently get with Fred-McTominay.
When the difference is that amount, the price isn’t really a factor. Just a question of who you think is better and suits the team more.
Neves would be a smart signing. This this is just paper talk at the minute but he'd be a great fit in that midfield. If we go 4-3-3, I'd play him as the holder with Donny and Bruno. That would give us legs, balance and creativity. Playing behind a front 3 of Rashford, Edi and Sancho, we're talking a proper competitive starting 11.
I don’t see the ‘legs’ in that midfield? Fred for VDB for me.
Sigh.
he’s slow
Neves would be a good signing. Had the ability to be a deep lying playmaker ala jorginho for Chelsea or Carrick for us.
As wolves are skint and need to sell one of their top players to balance the books, Neves to us for a reasonable price would be nice. Good passing range, good freekicks and deadballs. Nice shot on him from long range. Alot to like.
As wolves are skint and need to sell one of their top players to balance the books, Neves to us for a reasonable price would be nice. Good passing range, good freekicks and deadballs. Nice shot on him from long range. Alot to like.
Perhaps but I don’t think it’s that simple. Utd have a great squad with some amazing talent. Afew more of the right pieces and we are right up there with city. Ole is a decent manager too, who has exceeded expectations this far, almost the complete opposite of Arteta so I’d stop that comparison immediately.
Still no top source other than only talksport ‘breaking’ it since the morning. Still think this is just baseless transfer talk and we are all getting ahead of ourselves here
Neither
Kinda funny iceberg considering Neves means snow in portuguese.
They're all fairly athletic so as a combination I think mobility wouldn't be an issue. I take your point though, although with Fred you're sacrificing technique for athleticism.
Course there’s logic in it, they’re players with similar qualities that play much the same way and have similar experience, you could actually argue Neves has achieved more than Carrick had at the same age. He’s already played European football for example. I’m a massive Carrick fan and truth be told I doubt Neves could reach those levels but I’m also reasonable enough to see why others think he could. I can definitely see why the club would be willing to take the gamble for the price quoted
It’s a little bit underwhelming but a transfer I think we’d need to judge in the context of the rest of our window. If he’s all we get, yeah we’re not really going anywhere. I’d say he’s a slight upgrade on Fred/McTominay. Those stating that his numbers aren’t up to theirs in terms of passing - Neves attempts passes they wouldn’t attempt. His passing ability is definitely superior.
Agreed, Neves with Pogba and Bruno would get overrun. Imagine going from McFred to that..
Didn't know that about McT, feels like he is energetic and is all over the place in a positive sense. But objective stats might differ. appreciate that.
Barca need to offload players after keeping Messi. I would try to tempt De Jong and would sign him even if it meant passing on a CB this summer.
Neves just doesn’t inspire me. As others have mentioned, old man Moutinho routinely looks the better player in midfield.
Neves just doesn’t inspire me. As others have mentioned, old man Moutinho routinely looks the better player in midfield.
Scott tends to have the odd game here and there (normally in a big game like PSG) where he presses and harries very well. Those matches are so noteworthy I feel a lot of people fall into the trap of thinking he's always like that, when in reality he's surprisingly passive in many (most?) games.
If we're buying two new midfielders, I wouldn't say no.
The number of midfielders who became great is dwarfed by those who stayed average. There is literally no reason to assume Neves will take Carricks path as opposed to following the path of all those others.
I've wanted Neves ever since he joined Wolves. His passing can be incredible and he would play the scholes role to a tee.
Hope we get him. Would be great to bring him in and play something like:
Hope we get him. Would be great to bring him in and play something like:
Cavani
Rashford---------Bruno----------Sancho
Neves-----Fred
--------Shaw-----------Maguire-----Varane-------Wan-Bissaka--
Henderson
Rashford---------Bruno----------Sancho
Neves-----Fred
--------Shaw-----------Maguire-----Varane-------Wan-Bissaka--
Henderson
A sacrifice that has been made for too long in our midfield. We’ve got athleticism all over the pitch, what we need is someone who can create chances, connect passes, and orchestrate a midfield.
Until then, teams can sit deep against us— content in allowing us to possess the ball in midfield, with our only real options being a sideways pass or a long ball into the box. Fred and McTominay should not be playing 50 matches a season but that is the state of our midfield.
Never Fred is not a Title winning or CL winning Midfield IMO.
Far from it.
We'd need another Midfielder in top of Nerves if Pogba goes
Far from it.
We'd need another Midfielder in top of Nerves if Pogba goes
His mobility would be the concern. He'd be fine in a double pivot with McTomminay next to him, but I'd worry about him sitting alongside Pogba. Better passing range than a lot of what we have though.
He'd be fine beside them yes. But those Midfield pairs are not good enough.
Agree.
Obviously we'd all like De Jong, but he would be at the top of the list of players Barca will not sell under any circumstances, even in their current situation.
I think we have to accept that the perfect midfielder for what we need just isn't available in the market this summer, so we either stick with what we have, or go for players who offer some of what we need, but not everything.
Yeah, exactly. Whilst Neves wouldn't be my first choice, he's certainly closer to that ilk than the other two.
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