Liverpool have seemingly been handed a potentially significant boost to their chances of signing Ruben Neves, judging by reports from Spain.
The Reds have been strongly linked with the Wolves midfielder of late, and Football Insider recently claimed that the 26-year-old is ready to depart Molineux for a new challenge.
The same outlet claimed that the Midlands club will likely accept offers of £50m for the player and would not stand in his way if he wishes to leave.
Spanish newspaper Sport have now reported that Barcelona have pulled out of the chase for Neves despite having an agreement ‘practically sealed’, with some key stakeholders instead set to prioritise other positions in Xavi’s squad.
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If indeed the LaLiga leaders have ended their interest in the Portugal midfielder, that could come as the removal of one significant obstacle in Liverpool’s pursuit of the player.
However, the Reds would still need to fend off some strong competition from the Premier League, with both Chelsea and Manchester United also in the running (as per Sport).
One man who’d surely be thrilled to see Neves at Anfield is Jamie Carragher, with the pundit gushing over the 26-year-old on Sky Sports‘ Friday Night Football in recent weeks.
The ex-Liverpool defender said: “I thought Ruben Neves would be at Wolves for a couple of seasons and then move on to a Champions League club and I am surprised he has not made that move, for whatever reason.
“You look at him, what he was doing at Porto, captaining that team at such a young age, I thought it was a natural progression. It has not quite happened yet but he is a player you look at and think can he make that next step and I am convinced that he can.”
An international teammate of Diogo Jota, the midfielder made an impression off the bench in Portugal’s 6-0 thrashing of Luxembourg last night.
As per Sofascore, he set up Rafael Leao’s late goal while also posting a 96% passing accuracy rate, seeing one shot come off the upright and winning 100% of his duels.
More performances like that will surely make Liverpool all the more determined to try and bring him to Anfield.