I think he would complement the team really well. Would be perfect as the defensive midfielder in a midfield 3.
Ruben Neves | Signed for Al Hilal (SA)
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Decent player, decent price. Seems to have stagnated a bit at Wolves but is still only 24. Might show a bit more life in new surroundings but not particularly convinced he's up to it at the highest level. I can see why we'd be interested in a third-choice kinda way though. Even if he's not a massive improvement on what we have, he's a different type of player so would bring different options to the team. Not a signing to be thrilled by, mind.
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He can pass the ball a bit but he really lacks the dynamism to be truly effective. Marginal upgrade on Xhaka is about right — who himself is a pretty eh midfielder.
I like him, but I think he's a little slow and immobile for what we need.
He's no upgrade on Xhaka, Xhaka at least has days when he's unplayable, Neves is just bleh.
Bruno is pushing for this deal? He's player-manager now?
Agent Pogba, Agent Rashford, Agent Zlatan, blah blah blah.....You don't think players and management have conversations about other players..?
That's exactly what we need. A calm head who's competent on the ball. Fred is quick and mobile.
Yeah if you reduce it down to the basics, sure. but that's reductive. Neves doesn't bring anything that outweighs any negatives he also brings. Might as well stick a bid in for Xhaka if we just need someone that's competent on the ball. He'd be 20m cheaper too.
He’d make Schneiderlin look dynamic - he looked slow in Nuno’s 16 men behind the ball system - imagine what he’d look like here ffs 
Mediocre.
He's a worse Xhaka. Living off a youtube highlight reel of 30 yard screamers and a couple of nice long passes
Well on the other hand where are we going to find this quick, mobile, composed, technically pure midfielder? Neves’s price tag has to make him appealing given he does bring something different.
I really think pairing him with an energetic, mobile ball-winner like Fred could be a great double pivot. Fred pressing and winning the ball back and Neves recycling possession and creating from deep.
Looked promising in the Championship when he hit in a few decent bangers during a promotion season, but has looked mid-table standard in the Prem. No better than Fred or McT in my opinion. A good player if you're Wolves, but would be a waste of money for us.
I was just thinking it would be like Schneiderlin. As I said, I like him and in the right team and system he can be great. Not in our system though.He’d make Schneiderlin look dynamic - he looked slow in Nuno’s 16 men behind the ball system - imagine what he’d look like here ffs
As much as I think Neves hasn't kicked on since his first 2 seasons at Wolves, I still think he might be able to work as the deep lying ball player which a lot of fans crave. He isn't the quickest but neither was Carrick and we haven't really replaced him.
He has a very high long pass completion rate so will help us get the ball to our most dangerous players quickly. We are very bad at trying to build play through the pitch so a more direct approach might help.
Currently unless Pogba comes deep, we have McFred who can't pass more than 15 yards so we find it hard to move defences around and get our best players in one v ones.
His athleticism to cover gaps when lose it would be a worry.
Overall I think there are very few players that can tick all the boxes so at the reasonable fee I think he could be an improvement.
Currently unless Pogba comes deep, we have McFred who can't pass more than 15 yards so we find it hard to move defences around and get our best players in one v ones.
His athleticism to cover gaps when lose it would be a worry.
Overall I think there are very few players that can tick all the boxes so at the reasonable fee I think he could be an improvement.
Fair, I think I was being a little too harsh on Xhaka there. Neves has never dropped games like Xhaka did against France, for instance.
Scoring the occasional screamer does not make you a great player.
He better not be our only midfield signing if Pogba goes.
Who plays in a 4-3-3?
Well I'm still undecided tbh, never to sure if the rumours are true but his range of passing could come in handy, especially against teams that just sit back and we're gonna have 85% of the ball.
I think against better teams he'd probably get found out on his lack of pace.
I think against better teams he'd probably get found out on his lack of pace.
I like him, sitting next to fred pinging long balls forward could be good
For £35m, providing we also sign another midfielder and not just Neves, I would be up for this.
Main issue is he isn't as mobile and quick as I would like but neither was Carrick and look how good he was for us? I know you could say football has evolved hence why you see more and more players in Neves' position who are more mobile and quicker than he is but I personally think if played in the right position and with the right players around him it could work well.
He has played often as both a 6 and a 8 for Wolves and from what I've seen of him, appears to be more effective as an 8 where he is slightly closer to goal and more involved in the game with more touches but I think in this United team we would want him to be our number 6 and our 8 should be Pogba if he stays and if he goes a player like Saul (who is more mobile, quicker and combative) alongside Neves may work really well and help us control games that little bit more.
Main issue is he isn't as mobile and quick as I would like but neither was Carrick and look how good he was for us? I know you could say football has evolved hence why you see more and more players in Neves' position who are more mobile and quicker than he is but I personally think if played in the right position and with the right players around him it could work well.
He has played often as both a 6 and a 8 for Wolves and from what I've seen of him, appears to be more effective as an 8 where he is slightly closer to goal and more involved in the game with more touches but I think in this United team we would want him to be our number 6 and our 8 should be Pogba if he stays and if he goes a player like Saul (who is more mobile, quicker and combative) alongside Neves may work really well and help us control games that little bit more.
Yeah would still need another one definitely ideally a DM as always think he is more of a DLP
This still fills me with a huge amount of 'meh'
The titanic turned away from ice bergs quicker
If we sign Neves and players like him then we are competing with Arsenal and Tottenham for the next 10 years not City and Chelsea. He does not improve us or move the needle in any way, we are some way into the rebuild and should not be wasting time on players who do not significantly improve what we already have otherwise we are standing still and will be overtaken.
alright, this is a bit much considering we're signing Sancho and may sign Varane this summer
He's definitely similar to Xhaka but I think a bit better. He's a much better tackler and presser of the ball, for one thing. Both the eye test and statistics bear that out. He also contributes some in the final third by banging in a few from range and playing the final ball on occasion, which Xhaka really doesn't do whatsoever.
He may not be that dynamic but neither are Jorginho or Rodri and they seem to be doing pretty well for themselves.
In the end, however, I think there is some significant upside and downside risk with Neves, in that Wolves have been so defensive and done so little with the ball over the last few years. On a more possession based team, he could end up being found out a bit. But I also wouldn't be surprised if he kicked on and elevated his game in that kind of setup, a he showed flashes of a different level when Wolves were in the Championship and played more expansively.
As a squad player? Fantastic. As a starter? Meh.
That seems overly dramatic given that players very similar to Neves are currently integral to the midfields of both City and Chelsea.
Either we're putting out calls in the wake of a potential Pogba exit or Arsenal are being played to cough up more.
He’s getting a bit underrated on here and that’s probably because he’s stagnated slightly and is no longer as glamorous as he once was but he’s still 24 and has plenty of room to improve. It’s important to note that he has also played for years in an incredibly negative team where they don’t offer much movement. I think he could be a really smart acquisition for us at the right price.
That’s nonsense. Chelsea have some pretty average midfielders and have still seen success. Neves is a decent player.
I know what you mean, it doesnt sound great, but I think it has potential. Fred breaking up play and doing his usual fred schizz, Neves sitting and getting the ball forward to rashy/sancho/greenwood and El Matador. He could be an important cog. He has stagnated at wolves, but they hardly played the most scintillating attacking football, with a little more freedom to express Im hopeful.This still fills me with a huge amount of 'meh'
Good teams are the sum of their parts. If he could sit in front of our defence (which if Varane is signed would be a pretty fecking formidable backline) and allow our attacking players to do their sh*t then he's an upgrade. Matic is the only person we have that can do that job alone, Fred or McT aren't good enough individually. Not saying I'm a huge fan of signing Neves, but it wouldn't be as big an error as you make out.
Agreed. He's a good player.
That's what was said about Carrick before we got him. Not all DMs are the dynamic terrier.
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