Ruben Neves in action for Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilalplaceholder image
Ruben Neves in action for Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal | Getty Images
Man Utd will need to strengthen again in January regardless of who the manager is, with one key signing already identified.
Despite Manchester United’s current struggles under Ruben Amorim, there is still a feeling that the squad needs to be significantly upgraded before any manager can be properly assessed.
The Red Devils’ boss didn’t cover himself in glory in the 3-1 defeat to Brentford with a series of changes that didn’t help his team’s balance or fluidity with square pegs still being put in round holes due mainly to a lack of depth and lack of options.
Man Utd target Ruben Neves as contract ticks down
The statistics point to an improvement in terms of chance creation and attacking output, however, the only attacking measurement that matters is the goals for column and United have been found wanting on too many occasions. They have also been guilty of making it too easy for opposition teams to score and Amorim needs to find a solution.
Plans for the January transfer window will be well underway and, according to transfer journalist Graeme Bailey, United are considering a move for Ruben Neves, a player widely regarded as one of the best currently in Saudi Arabia and who is out of contract at the end of the season.
To make the 60-times capped Portugal international even more attractive, is that he is the experienced defensive midfielder who Amorim has been crying out for.
“Ruben Neves is a fascinating figure and a player Man United have long admired, even before he joined Wolves during his Porto days. Now 28, many feel he could be coming into his prime years and he could be available for free in 2026. I am told from Al-Hilal sources that they are fighting hard to extend him beyond next year.”
United could make early move for Neves
Talksport’s Ben Jacobs has gone one further speaking to The United Stand and suggested that United could target the deep lying playmaker even earlier with next summer’s World Cup providing the sort of motivation for Neves to move to a more competitive league sooner, rather than later.
He said: “I think there’s concrete possibility that Neves will leave Al-Hilal. I’m just not sure at this point if we’re talking January or the summer, but I think within the next two windows, he will leave. And there may be a possibility, depending on what Al-Hilal do in their own midfield, specifically in January, that he becomes available on a loan and has a desire to run back to the Premier League six months before a World Cup.”
The biggest problem for United in recent years before Amorim arrived wasn’t that they didn’t have the money needed to build the sort of team that could compete in the Premier League, it was that they spent the money poorly. On a Bosman, Neves is a tap-in, an open goal. They could even bag a cut-price deal for him in January.
Continue Reading