Ruben Neves | Signed for Al Hilal (SA)

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RUCK4444

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People were saying the same dumb shit about Carrick when he came in: he's nothing special, he's weak defensively, he's not fast etc.
He’s not Carrick, let’s not pretend he’s anywhere near as good.

You just have to watch him be outshone by an ageing Moutinho every week for Wolves.

He’s been hugely overrated by some, underrated by others. He’s decent and would be a good squad option, like Donny was supposed to be (and may still be.)
 

gazbradley

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This is utter rubbish to me. You could see what you were buying when you were buying Carrick from Tottenham.

Neves seems like someone people assume to be a deep lying playmaker just because he can occasionally make a good long pass - a Jonjo shelvey more than a Carrick to me.
There’s a slight irony here, I was a big Carrick fan much in the same way I’m guessing you were but there were a lot of people who were very dismissive of him when we signed him much in the same way you are with Neves, in fact Carrick was criminally under rated his whole career to be fair. Im not convinced Neves will ever be Carrick's level granted but I think the Carrick comparison is a fairer assessment of Neves career so far than Shelvey for instance
 

Sultan

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I'm not sure of any decent reasons why he needs to be purchased. This might be controversial but I think even Matic can still do a better job. McTominay and Fred are better players. Either buy superior players to those already at the club or if it's simply to purchase a squad player they should not be paying such high amounts.
 
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He’s not Carrick, let’s not pretend he’s anywhere near as good.

You just have to watch him be outshone by an ageing Moutinho every week for Wolves.

He’s been hugely overrated by some, underrated by others. He’s decent and would be a good squad option, like Donny was supposed to be (and may still be.)
Wolves and their current tactics aren’t a great fit for him in fairness, that’s why I think he could be shrewd for United.
Here he’d be playing in a side that boss possession in 90% of our games and he’d be simply asked to sit, be positionally aware, and move the ball, his best attributes.
 

diarm

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This is utter rubbish to me. You could see what you were buying when you were buying Carrick from Tottenham.

Neves seems like someone people assume to be a deep lying playmaker just because he can occasionally make a good long pass - a Jonjo shelvey more than a Carrick to me.
Easy to say this now, but have a look back at the threads that were popping up when we were after Carrick from Spurs.

People on here were openly calling for us to sign Parker, Diarra, Senna, Jenas or Reo-Coker instead. Carrick was being written off as too slow, immobile, couldn't tackle, couldn't play in a 2 and all sorts of rubbish. It was the same with Fletcher and there have been bits of it with McTominay and Fred.

The Caf is brilliant at a lot of things, but notoriously awful at judging midfielders.
 

FrankDrebin

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He was completely non-existent in our final PL game at the Molineux and he was up against midfield 3 of Beek--Mata--Matic.
 

StonedhamsterZA

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The thing I love about this video and his passes is that he passes ahead of his team-mates.

We have a habit of passing directly when distributing the ball, or even sometimes behind the players, which can break down play.

I know teams will defend deeper, so it's not always possible for us, but at the same time, it's rare to see balls played where our players can run onto it.
 

Ander herrera the warrior

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Out of interest... would people prefer Neves for 35m or Rice for 60m?
If Pogba stays, we should go for rice as he would bring in better defence stability and allow pogba to take over the creativity side of things. If Pogba leaves, we need to sign Neves as now we don't have anyone who could pass well from deep.

As for those who underrate Neves, as far as I remember Carrick was a much better player around 26 years of age. Neves is still 24 and I think he could develop into a really good player for us.
 

FrankDrebin

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He still has a good amount of learning to do in his role but he also has time on his side but his form this season has been underwhelming, no question.
 

worldinmotion66

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Doesn't have the dynamism which makes him less appealing to many, but we already have options that can cover a lot of ground (if that's what we want) in McTominay and Fred.

At the price being quoted, I think he'd be a good signing. The only alternative we currently have with that discipline is Matic, and while they share some qualities and Matic excels at dribbling out of trouble, I still think Neves is far superior defensively, has more mobility and a better passing range. He's also got age on his side.

The comparisons with Carrick are reasonable. Similar style of play, similar trajectory, similar weaknesses. Having Carrick as a coach can only be of benefit to his development were we to sign Neves.
 

Red_Orchestra

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Guys this is a a very good opportunity to sign a pretty good deep lying playmaker. This is also very good opportunity for a much needed midfield overhaul.
Neves is not a solo DM, BUT, adding Camavinga next to him would create a crafty partnership who would compliment one another imo. 50m - 60m for the pair would be absolutely fine business.
 

Bestietom

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There is a reason he is only costing 35 million at just 24 years of age. Slow as a snail.
 

crossy1686

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He was completely non-existent in our final PL game at the Molineux and he was up against midfield 3 of Beek--Mata--Matic.
You can’t judge anyone on a game that doesn’t matter. City got beat 9-0 off Middlesbrough once. Tottenham got hammered off Newcastle 4-0 also. Last game of the season is a nothing game
 

RUCK4444

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Wolves and their current tactics aren’t a great fit for him in fairness, that’s why I think he could be shrewd for United.
Here he’d be playing in a side that boss possession in 90% of our games and he’d be simply asked to sit, be positionally aware, and move the ball, his best attributes.
Yeah on the bolded, that may have an effect on how he plays for us. That said don't Wolves get majority of possession against the bottom half of the table?
 

Ish

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I think for the price mentioned, we should go for it. People are too concerned about "pace". Most DLP (a rare breed) lack pace (Jorginho, Kroos, Rodri, Busquets, Thiago) but they make up for it with their positional sense, and the managers acumen in partnering them with a complimentary midfielder (like Fred/McT as an example). But posters are correct in saying if he is paired with Pogba, we will get exposed IMO. It could work if we're chasing a game against "lesser" opponents, but Neves would need to be paired with a more mobile, hardworking CM to get the best out of him/the team.

edit: why is the price "only" 35m? I'd have thought a year or so ago Wolves would have demanded 60m+. Contract running out?
 

Ikon

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He still has a good amount of learning to do in his role but he also has time on his side but his form this season has been underwhelming, no question.
I think he has stagnated at Wolves, but also consider, Jimenez & Jota were not upfront for Wolves, which might have also had an effect on Neves' forward passing range...
 

lysglimt

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24 years old, DM/CM, premier league proven.

People saying he has gone stale, what do you expect? DM scoring 10 goals a season?

Hojberg (now valued at 40 million since his move from Southampton) was a coup, I'm sure this one can turn into a masterstroke too.
Do you see Neves turning us onto P.L Winners ? That's the players we need now.
 

Zoo

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Am I wrong in thinking that his style is similar to Tielemans'?
You’re not wrong though I’d say that Neves is better defensively whereas in the last season Tielemans has made more of an impact overall. Its difficult to assess Neves now because Wolves in general played dull, stodgy football under Nuno and were on the downturn last season.
 

Berbasbullet

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Do you see Neves turning us onto P.L Winners ? That's the players we need now.
To be fair you could have copied and pasted that to the transfer window we signed Carrick, and he turned out to be the final piece in the puzzle.
 

FrankDrebin

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You can’t judge anyone on a game that doesn’t matter. City got beat 9-0 off Middlesbrough once. Tottenham got hammered off Newcastle 4-0 also. Last game of the season is a nothing game
I agree but his form this season has been underwhelming and that showing could be argued to illustrate his campaign as a whole.
 

worldinmotion66

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Name / Tackles / Interceptions / Blocks / Passes / Pass Accuracy / Key passes (all stats = per game)

Neves / 2.3 / 1.7 / 0.3 / 54.1 / 84.9% / 0.9
McTominay / 1.6 / 1.0 / 0.3 / 42.0 / 86.0% / 0.5
Fred / 2.7 / 1.5 / 0.3 / 60.2 / 87.7% / 0.8
Rodri / 1.8 / 1.0 / 0.2 / 75.1 / 91.6% / 0.8
Jorginho / 2.0 / 1.8 / 0.2 / 66.3 / 90.1% / 0.8

I know that stats don't tell the complete story, but for someone playing in a struggling side and having a poor season, Neves doesn't compare too badly. It's quite feasible to argue that he'd improve offensively in a better side.
 

Leftback99

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He was completely non-existent in our final PL game at the Molineux and he was up against midfield 3 of Beek--Mata--Matic.
He was far from eye catching but he had the most touches on the pitch so non-existent is pushing it.

In many games we just need a player in midfield to keep us ticking over and to keep giving to ball to our attackers. It's basics but our current options seem to struggle. Whether Neves is that player I don't know.
 

cyberman

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He was far from eye catching but he had the most touches on the pitch so non-existent is pushing it.

In many games we just need a player in midfield to keep us ticking over and to keep giving to ball to our attackers. It's basics but our current options seem to struggle. Whether Neves is that player I don't know.
Our attackers are always getting the ball though. Thsts not a problem for us.
 

kidbob

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Guys this is a a very good opportunity to sign a pretty good deep lying playmaker. This is also very good opportunity for a much needed midfield overhaul.
Neves is not a solo DM, BUT, adding Camavinga next to him would create a crafty partnership who would compliment one another imo. 50m - 60m for the pair would be absolutely fine business.
I'd go one further and say that if we sell Pogba we should be trying to buy the two of them and also Saul and do a complete overhaul. Squad depth really matters. The ideal situation would be the two of them and Grealish but that would probably cost a bit too much.
 
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Yeah on the bolded, that may have an effect on how he plays for us. That said don't Wolves get majority of possession against the bottom half of the table?
Wolves often need more than a positionally sound player “ticking it over”, as they lack quality.
At United that player would be ticking it over to Sancho, Bruno, Pogba, Cavani etc etc.
 

Berbasbullet

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I'd go one further and say that if we sell Pogba we should be trying to buy the two of them and also Saul and do a complete overhaul. Squad depth really matters. The ideal situation would be the two of them and Grealish but that would probably cost a bit too much.
Hasn’t Saul gone Barcelona or did I make that up?
 

DWelbz19

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Am I wrong in thinking that his style is similar to Tielemans'?
Yeah. Tielemans is a box to box midfielder, Neves sits deeper. Neves does far more defensively; blocks, tackles, interceptions, whilst Tielemans does far more offensively.
 

Lights Out

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Name / Tackles / Interceptions / Blocks / Passes / Pass Accuracy / Key passes (all stats = per game)

Neves / 2.3 / 1.7 / 0.3 / 54.1 / 84.9% / 0.9
McTominay / 1.6 / 1.0 / 0.3 / 42.0 / 86.0% / 0.5
Fred / 2.7 / 1.5 / 0.3 / 60.2 / 87.7% / 0.8
Rodri / 1.8 / 1.0 / 0.2 / 75.1 / 91.6% / 0.8
Jorginho / 2.0 / 1.8 / 0.2 / 66.3 / 90.1% / 0.8

I know that stats don't tell the complete story, but for someone playing in a struggling side and having a poor season, Neves doesn't compare too badly. It's quite feasible to argue that he'd improve offensively in a better side.
Looking at these stats, he’s almost a clone of Fred. But less accurate.
 

Bondi77

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Wolves and their current tactics aren’t a great fit for him in fairness, that’s why I think he could be shrewd for United.
Here he’d be playing in a side that boss possession in 90% of our games and he’d be simply asked to sit, be positionally aware, and move the ball, his best attributes.
Good points.
I like the player, I just don"t think we are after him.
 

Judas

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Maybe he'd look better in a bigger more talented team, maybe I'm just trying to soften the blow mentally if this is who we end up signing.

I just find him underwhelming after looking very promising, I feel like he's stagnated, but maybe a change of club is what he needs.
 

8thWonder

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Do you see Neves turning us onto P.L Winners ? That's the players we need now.
Brilliant... And who are these players that will make us PL winners? It's all based off stats and an experienced eye test as to why we would be looking at him and no matter who you buy it's always guess work as to where they'll actually get you so your point is ridiculous isn't it?

You need players who make you better. Does he make us better? i would suggest he would massively improve our passing game in midfield and therefore our attacking output and therefore makes us better.

I don't think he's perfect but no one is, is he a natural ball winner? Not from what I've seen but is supposedly disciplined and smart positionally which to be honest is 4/5ths of your job in that position, again the Carrick comparison could be relevant here because they have similar strengths and weaknesses and he improved the team massively...

Doesn't look great when being dribbled past which is already something that Fred, McTominay and Pogba also struggle with but if the team can defend well in that scenario, which a new cb could massively help with, then you can take that into account and move forward.

Who knows if we'll sign him but I could definitely see him come in and make us better.
 

worldinmotion66

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Our attackers are always getting the ball though. Thsts not a problem for us.
Playing with one less defensive midfielder is the key reason to go for a disciplined holding player like Neves though. It releases another body further up the pitch so we might actually be willing to cross the ball sometimes. It's just about finding a way to get more bodies forward against a low block where we really struggle to break teams down.
 

AneRu

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Guys this is a a very good opportunity to sign a pretty good deep lying playmaker. This is also very good opportunity for a much needed midfield overhaul.
Neves is not a solo DM, BUT, adding Camavinga next to him would create a crafty partnership who would compliment one another imo. 50m - 60m for the pair would be absolutely fine business.
Agreed with this. Of we could sell Pogba and replace him with Camavinga and Neves we will come out a more balanced side with greater depth. That would be a great piece of business from the club.
 

Ayoba

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Good job you lads weren’t scouting Carrick…
Exactly! A lot of revisionism going on here but I remember when Carrick was signed there was a general underwhelming feeling and even when he played for us people were still quick to moan about him, particularly his slow starts to the season.

Neves would be a good signing for us! So many times last season we saw that a lack of options from midfield hindered us. When Bruno is marked out of a game and Pogba has his annual injury lay off, we need something different from the middle of the park and Neves can provide that!
 
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