According to Portuguese journalist Marcus Alves, writing for FourFourTwo, and as reported on The72 earlier, Premier League giants Liverpool are said in ongoing transfer negotiations over Wolves starlet Ruben Neves.
Neves, whose £15 million transfer from FC Porto sent ripples through the Sky Bet Championship, has been a revelation for the Black Country side. As his sky-high price tag would suggest, he’s gone on to play a vital role for a Wolves side who’ve laid waste to most of the Championship on their way to Premier League promotion.
It is these displays, displays that have brought about six goals and an assist in 39 Sky Bet Championship games, that have attracted admiring glances from Premier League side Liverpool. The Reds are said to have met Neves’ entourage who were told that a deal for the 21-year-old starlet “could advance in the coming weeks.”
Neves’ career is managed by Portuguese super agent Jorge Mendes, the same player who guides world football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. It was Mendes who brought his client to Wolves, and English football, through links that he is said to have with the Sky Bet Championship side. These links have caused a degree of concern to clubs in the Championship and the Premier League.
However, ahead of their return to the Premier League and big-time football, Wolves fans needn’t be too disheartened according to journalist Alves as Jorge Mendes is working on a ‘replacement’ for Neves.
Alves says in his FourFourTwo article on Liverpool’s interest in Neves that Mendes is looking to bring in four-cap Brazil Under-23 international attacking midfielder Anderson Talisca. Alves says of this potential deal that Mendes “has potentially lined up Anderson Talisca (currently on loan at Besiktas) as a replacement for Neves, even though the duo play different roles on the pitch at present.”
Talisca, who was linked with a £20 million move to Wolves in 2016, is not only said to be being brought in by Jorge Mendes, but the Birmingham Mail corroborate this saying that “Wolves have reportedly made contact” with the exciting Brazilian.
The exciting Brazilian, who is nearing the end of a two-season loan deal with Turkish side Besiktas, has featured in 28 Super Lig games this season, returning 12 goals and four assists. This league return is in addition to four goals in eight Champions League matches for the Turkish side. Besiktas have an option to sign him this summer, but according to Alves the Brazilian has asked his agent for a Premier League move.
