Lots of nonsense being thrown around and bashing of a very very good player. Depending on our plans for the midfield he can be a good upgrade to a midfield consistent of shit passers like Scott and Fred.
Ruben Neves | Signed for Al Hilal (SA)
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I think this could be an inspired signing. We need a dm/dlp and Neves is a relatively low risk-high reward option that, if nothing else, will refresh our options with a solid if unspectacular premier league proven option.
He doesn't really need to chip in with goals and assista, as I feel we'll have plenty of options for that, but he's tenacious, will keep the ball moving and is relatively press resistant. He also has a good pass on him. If he ticks well with us we have a disciplined midfield we who can can provide a decent foil to almost all our other midfielders in a pinch as an 8 or 6.
Don't get me wrong, I think we should be doing better than Neves but given what we've spent so far, we're not gonna spend much more. Who else is available at a decent price who would improve us? Arsenal is ultimately about his top level but If we buy him and see he's not good enough, considering his age and resale value we should only be out at most 20m.
He doesn't really need to chip in with goals and assista, as I feel we'll have plenty of options for that, but he's tenacious, will keep the ball moving and is relatively press resistant. He also has a good pass on him. If he ticks well with us we have a disciplined midfield we who can can provide a decent foil to almost all our other midfielders in a pinch as an 8 or 6.
Don't get me wrong, I think we should be doing better than Neves but given what we've spent so far, we're not gonna spend much more. Who else is available at a decent price who would improve us? Arsenal is ultimately about his top level but If we buy him and see he's not good enough, considering his age and resale value we should only be out at most 20m.
Yeah he's not a terrible player, I'd be happy to have him in the sqaud, just not sure he elevates us as a team especially if he's Pogba's replacement.
Him and Camavinga would be good additions to the team if Pogba goes. Not world class levels but both will improve the team in their own ways. Camavinga has the potential to develop into a quality player too
Ruben Neves is not a very very good player - he is a good player whose attacking contributions are limited. In over 100 appearances he has 11 goals and 6 assists - which is marginally better than McTominay . And before you call mcTominay and Fred shit passers - their passing accuracy is better than Neves - of course that doesn't tell the whole story, but to say that he is a lot better than those 2 is simply not correct
Remember when we were linked with Lemina a few summers back, I kept finding ways to justify his possible transfer in my head.
I'm currently doing the same with Ruben Neves, that clearly isn't a good sign.
I'm currently doing the same with Ruben Neves, that clearly isn't a good sign.
His long balls alone are worth 15m.
He's actually very good defensively, better than Fred, but Fred has better passing stats. He's a better player than McTominay pretty much across the board with the exception that McTominay scores more. Honestly, for a DM McTominays defensive stats are actually pretty trash and his passing is not good. I think we're basically looking for Freds partner.
Tbf I don't think goals and assists are particularly relevant given the type of midfielder he is.
Agree that he's not all that though.
Not on his own, but with the additions of sancho, shaw being godlike, and potentially trippier I think the balance is spot on.
Looks like that is Leon Goretzka
If it's a choice of Neves and Rice then i'd pick Neves every time. An actual genuine playmaker who isn't too bad defensively either.
He's alright, fits our midfield more stylistically compared to other options but not sure he's at a high enough level. We'd hope he turns into Jorginho's level with ball progression and passing pretty much, but not sure if he has that in him.
Hell no
He was want even getting a game for Wolves last season at times
He was want even getting a game for Wolves last season at times
So far no other proper source other than talksport. Lads i think this rumour is a load of crap, though i wouldn't mind see this happening
He played in 36/38 PL games and only 2 outfield players played more minutes all season.
Feel pretty similar, can see him doing a job against the lesser sides if given abit more space to pick passes etc, not sure I see the benefit of him against better sides except set pieces. He’s definitely a different option than we have and the price isn’t the worst given his age, maybe his recent form is down to being too comfortable at Wolves and the challenge of playing at a higher level is what he needs
Thing is, not every signing can be world class, even for the Utd/Bayern/Madrid etc type clubs. If we’re signing Sancho and Varane, two absolute top drawer players, then we might need to settle for a slightly under the radar midfield addition. I don’t think Pogba is going anywhere (gonna run his deal down) so this will be in addition to and I think he’d give us something different. £35m is a decent price for a young player that hasn’t quite filled his potential yet who does offer us things we don’t have - a good long and short passer from deep and a goal threat from range.
We would have an absurd amount of midfielders though - Neves, Pogba, Bruno, Fred, Scott, Donny, Matic, Mata, Andreas not to mention Hannibal, who I’d like to see get some bench and game time.
We would have an absurd amount of midfielders though - Neves, Pogba, Bruno, Fred, Scott, Donny, Matic, Mata, Andreas not to mention Hannibal, who I’d like to see get some bench and game time.
That could be misleading though. If you are playing risk-averse passes all match, then of course you are likely to have a better completion rate.
Would be a far better partner to Fred/McT in midfield than Rice(even though Rice arguably is a better player). Yes he is not dynamic, but he doesnt need to be. Fred/McT are. What they lack is a ball player next to them, and Neves could be that player. Would be a good upgrade on Matic.
McT/Fred are already good at playing the box-to-box ball winner role. We dont need another DM who sits deep. We need a midfielder who can play next to them and connect the defense and attack. Someone who can control the tempo. Someone who can build from the back and play out of a press.
McT/Fred are already good at playing the box-to-box ball winner role. We dont need another DM who sits deep. We need a midfielder who can play next to them and connect the defense and attack. Someone who can control the tempo. Someone who can build from the back and play out of a press.
How many of those 36 were starts? I mean maybe I'm wrong but I certainly recall Wolves games where he was on the bench for
But thats no yardstick, those wins were mostly down to luck really they won the titles in weak seasons. When you're trying to build a team to compete with City you need world class in every position.
Fair. You have to take a pinch of salt with most stats mind for that very reason. I think this table is pretty interesting though:
| Player | Attempted Long Passes | Long Passes Completed | Success % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camavinga | 77 | 59 | 77% |
| Fred | 148 | 98 | 66% |
| Neves | 302 | 192 | 64% |
| Rice | 121 | 75 | 62% |
| McTominay | 112 | 68 | 61% |
You'd look at that table and think Neves was pretty average given he's on 64% and yet if you look at the sheer amount of long passes he attempted and completed it's actually insane. It's more than Fred and McTominay combined.
I wouldn't mind him as a sub, he has some screamers on him that are really useful against packed defenses.
Problem is we already have starters that are sub quality, so we need to add something better or we'll end up like the CB department a couple of season ago with a lot of underwhelming options.
Problem is we already have starters that are sub quality, so we need to add something better or we'll end up like the CB department a couple of season ago with a lot of underwhelming options.
31, most of all their midfielders and since December there was only 1 game he didn't start when available.
I don’t know, Ole was stating that he wants to use a more attacking 4-3-3. To do that he must be looking at getting a DM in. We couldn’t do it with just Fred or McT. Neither individually good enough so Neves wouldn't be a surprise as he would be a pretty cost effective upgrade on Fred and McT.
Liverpool ran City kneck and kneck for the title before subsequently beating them the following year. In neither season did they have world class players in every position, unless you think the likes of Georgi Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez are world class. Hell, even Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain started about half their league games in their title winning season.
Can we stop the Carrick comparisons. No, Carrick wasn't that quick, but he was an outstanding metronomic controller of tempo and could dictate play in games against the best teams in the league. Neves may have something of the same features, but he does so at a substantially lower level.
A 4-3-3 with Pogba, Bruno and Neves would melt defensively. It would only make sense if Pogba was leaving. Fred/McTominay breaking down the opponent, Neves play making from deep and Bruno handling business up the pitch. Unfortunately I don't think he Neves is good enough.
You don’t. I can only name afew team ins history with a world class player in every position. Personally I think Utd 2008 and possibly 1999 are the only teams that have managed it in yeh premier league and even then I’d argue there was one or two borderline players. If Neves is the weakest player in your team, you have an elite side in my book.
The whole Wolves team looked cooked under Nuno. It's tough to tell how much of his bad play of late is down to him or the fact that the team was incredibly stale and needing changes.
I find him to be too slow and immobile. But I haven't seen him a ton.
Being slow can be ok, after all Carrick wasnt the fastest.
But is he any good defensively to play like a holding midfielder for us, similar to Jorginho? Appreciate any replies. Thanks
Being slow can be ok, after all Carrick wasnt the fastest.
But is he any good defensively to play like a holding midfielder for us, similar to Jorginho? Appreciate any replies. Thanks
Yeah not sure it was worthy of a thread. I actually don't think we will sign a midfielder other than possibly Camavinga unless Pogba goes.
I agree stats can be misleading and hence I don't put too much weight on that. I prioritize ball retention, but then like a player who has the balls to play a risky pass if the chance is there. On the other side of it, I want a player like Bruno to slow it down sometimes and not try and play a risky pass all the time. Losing the ball so often means your team is placed under pressure to defend and get it back again.
A natural midfielder with good vision and good passing range would be a nice addition to the squad. I think his long passes could give us a different attacking option.
I think the below actually just highlights how good Kante is defensively if i'm honest. But I'd say Neves is clearly much better than McTominay and right up there in the league.
Tackling Stats:
Player | Mins | Attempted Tackles | Tackles Completed | Tackle Success % | Tackle Completed Per Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N'Golo Kanté | 2146 | 108 | 79 | 73% | 27.2 |
Fred | 2397 | 141 | 81 | 57% | 29.6 |
Rúben Neves | 2680 | 138 | 86 | 62% | 31.2 |
Jorginho | 2014 | 101 | 57 | 56% | 35.3 |
Scott McTominay | 2128 | 64 | 51 | 80% | 41.7 |
Declan Rice | 2880 | 89 | 59 | 66% | 48.8 |
Interception Stats:
Player | Mins | Interceptions | Interception Per Min |
|---|---|---|---|
N'Golo Kanté | 2146 | 59 | 36.4 |
Declan Rice | 2880 | 59 | 40.6 |
Rúben Neves | 2680 | 65 | 41.2 |
Fred | 2397 | 45 | 44.8 |
Scott McTominay | 2128 | 29 | 73.4 |
Jorginho | 2014 | 40 | 72.0 |
Interesting stats but these would suggest there isn't much between him and Fred/Mctom however I rate rate him a lot higher.
Had a scan of a popular Wolves forum and it seems they still rate Neves very highly, by and large. The feeling seemed to be that he needs to be more aggressive but is uber talented and a player they'd love to keep if possible.
Don't want.
Same. Give me Goretzka
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