Wolves dealt transfer blow ahead of Man Utd Premier League opener as star man ‘set to leave’

Wolverhampton Wanderers have agreed to sell Ruben Neves to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal this summer for a reported fee of £47 million. The 26-year-old is set to become the latest to make the move to the Saudi Professional League, following Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, and Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad.

Neves had previously made it clear he enjoyed competing in the Premier League with Wolves, but he has a burning desire to play Champions League football. With his contract running into the last 12 months, the Midlands outfit are naturally cashing in on him while they can.

The deal with Al-Hilal may come as a surprise to some, as the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool and Newcastle United were all linked with the Portugal internatioal this window. Manchester United were also on the market for Neves, who has seriously impressed during his time at Molineux.

If all goes to plan, Neves will join Al-Hilal ahead of the new season, meaning Wolves will offload him before their 2023/24 season opener against Man United.

Neves isn’t the only Premier League star in talks with the Saudi league either. Fabrizio Romano recently reported that N’Golo Kanté has signed a contract with Al-Ittihad — Benzema’s new side — worth an eye-watering €100 million (£85 million) over four years, which boils down to about £442,000 per week in wages.

Kanté’s teammates at Stamford Bridge, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech, are also expected to join Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr respectively. Meanwhile Manchester City’s Riyah Mahrez is being monitored as well.

The surge in players moving over to the Gulf State is growing ever since Ronaldo left Old Trafford for Al-Nassr last December. The Reds have moved on since Ronaldo departed, and with Champions League football secured, plus plenty of transfer links, they’ll be looking to carry out a fruitful window of business this summer.