Man Utd ‘working’ on deal as Red Devils look to beat Arsenal to signing of £35m star | OneFootball

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Football Talk

·29 July 2021

Man Utd ‘working’ on deal as Red Devils look to beat Arsenal to signing of £35m star

Article image:Man Utd ‘working’ on deal as Red Devils look to beat Arsenal to signing of £35m star

Manchester United are ‘working’ on a deal to sign Arsenal target Ruben Neves with negotiations for the Wolves midfielder believed to be ‘reasonably’ advanced, according to reports via the Express.

Neves has been an excellent signing for Wolves since arriving from Porto in 2017 and has established himself as an important player for both club and country having been capped 22 times for Portugal.


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The 24-year-old’s impressive form has caught the eye of rival Premier League clubs and Arsenal were touted as the early front-runners for his signature as Mikel Arteta continues to overhaul his squad.

The Gunners coach is looking to sign another central midfielder as Granit Xhaka is expected to secure a move to Italy and Neves has seemingly been identified as a potential replacement for the Swiss international.

The Sun reported earlier this month that Arsenal’s technical director Edu has held lengthy talks with Neves’ agent Jorge Mendes about a possible move to the Emirates Stadium.

However, any deal is dependent on Xhaka finalising his exit and with Roma yet to agree terms with Arsenal, talkSPORT claimed that Manchester United had taken advantage of the situation to move into pole position to sign Neves in a potential £35m deal.

Article image:Man Utd ‘working’ on deal as Red Devils look to beat Arsenal to signing of £35m star

Now, Eurosport reporter Dean Jones has said that United are ‘working’ on a deal to sign the Wolves midfielder and discussions are believed to be reasonably advanced. Responding to Man Utd’s links with Saul Niguez, Jones told The Football Terrace podcast:

“I just haven’t heard a lot about Saul Niguez personally. So it’s hard for me to asses that one. So I’d say because of the information I’ve had, and it all depends on your sources.” “I know for a fact that they do like Neves, that they’ve been working on it in the background and it’s reasonably far down the line. And if they do want to progress with it they can, because the foundations have been laid.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has just wrapped-up a deal to sign centre-back Raphael Varane while Jadon Sancho has arrived from Borussia Dortmund but the United boss is also in the market for another midfielder.

Paul Pogba’s future at Old Trafford is in serious doubt as he has just one year left on his contract and is no closer to signing an extension so Manchester United may be forced to cash-in if a deal isn’t signed soon.

READ MORE: Arsenal transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

Neves could therefore be lined-up as a potential replacement for the Frenchman and the Wolves ace would be a terrific signing if United could pull it off. There is still plenty of time for Arsenal to step-up their interest but for now it appears Man Utd are in pole position to sign Neves this summer.

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