Barcelona Have Agreed Personal Terms With Wolves Midfielder Ruben Neves
Journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves is prepared to wait for Barcelona to make a decision over his acquisition after having agreed personal terms with the team.
Neves, 26, is one of the options considered by Barcelona as Sergio Busquets’ replacement for the next season. The veteran midfielder has announced he will call time on his Barcelona career at the end of the season and while Ilkay Gundogan is considered to be one option, Xavi wants a full-fledged defensive midfielder as well.
The option of signing Neves has been on Barça’s table for weeks. The Portuguese’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has been in touch with the team and has even had a word with Joan Laporta, but as it seems, Xavi has other priorities that the team will want to explore.
Speaking of priorities, Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is said to be topping Xavi’s list but the operational cost of acquiring the 24-year-old is exceeding Barcelona’s budget. Above all, Romano confirms that even the player is happy at Real Sociedad at the moment.
About Neves, Romano affirmed that while the potential swap deal between Neves and Ansu Fati is not happening, the former has agreed personal terms with the Blaugrana and is ready for them to make a decision.
“We have had many rumours about Ruben Neves. As we told you before, there is no green light to proceed Neves and Ansu Fati swap deal. This is not happening,” said the journalist.
“The reality is, Jorge Mendes has already discussed his client with Barcelona and the club president Joan Laporta. There is an agreement on personal terms between Neves and Barcelona.
The journalist added that at the moment, Barcelona are going to look for options and in the meanwhile, the option of signing Neves, who is valued at around €50 million by the Premier League side, will be kept on the table.
“So on the player’s side, there is no problem at all. The midfielder is prepared to wait for Barcelona. So what is going to happen is that Barça are going to look at the options in that position because we know Xavi has different priorities for the new defensive midfielder.
“Neves, on his part, will remain an option because he is prepared to wait. He has agreed personal terms and is ready to wait for weeks but we will see how long it will take,” he concluded.
