Paul Stewart has urged Liverpool to go back to Wolves in the transfer window and sign midfield star Ruben Neves.
The 56-year-old argued that the £35m fee quoted by The Athletic as a likely asking price for the Portuguese star would be more than reasonable, should the Reds wish to attain his services.
“I think Neves has proved himself in the Premier League for me,” the ex-Red told Football FanCast. “So I think he’d be a really good signing at that price because for a player of his quality it’s nothing.”
With Gini Wijnaldum having departed on a free, the need for a new midfielder to bolster Jurgen Klopp’s options has been highlighted.
At 24-years-old with a number of Premier League campaigns under his belt, the aforementioned asking price is hardly astronomical – in fact, Liverpool would be hard-pressed to find better value elsewhere for a similar talent in the English top-flight.
In terms of durability, the former Porto star fits the bill as a player who could be safely relied upon for an entire season having only ever missed one game for Wolves (due to COVID-19).
Ranking third in the league for interceptions this term and sixth for tackles, Neves evidently is an important part of Wolves’ defensive structure, though such stats aren’t necessarily always indicative of quality in that regard.
Nonetheless, if the recruitment team see enough in the way of traits that Klopp could take advantage of in order to mould our next Wijnaldum-esque signing, £35m would be something of a bargain for Premier League-proven talent.