Who is Ruben Neves? The low-down on Wolves' latest target

Luke Hatfield spoke to Tom Kundert, creator of PortuGOAL, World Soccer Magazine Portugal correspondent and co-author of 'A Journey Through Portuguese Football' to get the low-down on the Porto midfielder.

What qualities can Wolves fans expect from Ruben Neves?

He’s a high-class passer of the ball from deep, very good at winning the ball back in the defensive third or taking passes from his own defenders and pushing his team forward with runs into the opposition half and accurate vertical/diagonal passes.

He’s reasonably aggressive in the tackle and is tactically astute, always seeming to be in the right place at the right time.

He also has a powerful long-range shot.

Will Neves suit English football?

I think he’ll do well first and foremost because he is a high-class player with a good temperament.

Nothing seems to really faze him, which explains why he became a first-team player for Porto at 17 and is the youngest ever player to captain a Champions League team.

From the physical point of view, I also don’t see the adaptation being a problem for him at all.

Just how much of a coup could this be for Wolves? We've seen links with Premier League clubs?

No doubt about it, a massive one.

Nobody in Portugal really believed this rumour when it broke.

He’s been linked heavily with a sale to Liverpool, Chelsea and Juventus, so if he ends up going to Wolves – with all due respect – it will be an amazing capture for them when you consider he’s a player with significant Champions League experience.

Liverpool in particular have been credited with an interest going back more than a year.

Do you know of his relationship with Nuno, will that play a part this season for Wolves?

That’s an interesting question, because he did not get too much playing time for Porto this season just finished, with many Porto fans complaining he was being unfairly overlooked by Nuno.

In fairness, he had very tough competition in his position: Danilo Pereira, a defensive midfielder, is a senior Portugal international and has been Porto’s best player over the last two seasons, and the club also splashed out €20m on Spanish central midfielder Óliver Torres, and both were ahead of Neves in the pecking order.

That said, if Nuno wants him, I can only imagine it’s because he wants to make him an integral part of the team (especially as the transfer fee won’t be cheap) and this time he’ll likely be the main man in midfield, so I guess the fact they know each other well will be beneficial for both of them.

Have Wolves got good value him if the £15m fee is on the mark? There were rumours of him being worth more than that?

If that’s the fee then it’s a steal.

He’s consistently shown for Porto and for Portugal’s U21 team over three years that he is top quality.

No doubt about it in my mind. If he makes steady progress and lives up to his promise in a year or two he’ll be worth at least twice that amount.

What are his strengths and weaknesses?

His strengths lie in his accurate passing, positional sense, shooting from distance, maturity, composure.

Whereas his weaknesses are that he's not particularly fast, and could be better in the air.

Is he looking like a legitimate star in the future?

For sure.

He’s looked like a star since he made his debut – and scored – for Porto back in 2014.

We've seen the likes of Renato Sanches struggle after a breakout season, will he be likely to struggle too?

I’m guessing that’s why he’s chosen to make this move.

The most important thing extravagantly talented young players need to develop is to play regularly.

Playing every week for Wolves, possibly helping them to a promotion push, could prove a smarter move for him than sitting on the bench and just getting a few minutes here and there at a team like Liverpool, Chelsea or Juventus.

Could this be a stepping stone move for Neves? Will he be looking to move on if Wolves aren't promoted this season?

Yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if some kind of clause is written into his contract allowing him to move for a non-prohibitive fee if Wolves do not get promoted.

You can follow Tom Kundert on Twitter by searching for @PortuGoal1.