In his very first sit down with journalists at Molineux back in August, Bruno Lage singled out Ruben Neves. Having watched Neves progress with Porto in their homeland, Lage already knew all about the talent he was inheriting from Nuno Espirito Santo. Lage was happy with Neves’ game, but the head coach has identified two things his number eight still needs to work on.
Bruno Lage said: “He didn’t score, but I liked the way Ruben – and also Joao (Moutinho) – controlled the game today. That is what I want. He needs to understand two things: consistency – it’s important for him and his career – and the other one is to improve his defensive game. Not just the way we are defending, but also his individual duels. He’s working hard on those situations and, if we continue to work hard and improve, we have on our hands, and in our club, a top player.”
Neves could quite easily have left Wolves during the summer window with Manchester United among his potential suitors.
