Arsenal hero Paul Merson has claimed that a host of clubs will be chasing Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves in the summer transfer window.
Mikel Arteta's side were heavily linked with a move for the Portuguese star last summer when Granit Xhaka appeared to be on his way to Serie A outfit AS Roma but Jose Mourinho's pursuit of the Swiss international eventually broke down and he ended up signing a new contract in north London.
Neves also stayed at Wolves and has enjoyed a stellar season for Bruno Lage's side, showcasing his ability to progress the ball in between the lines, read the game intelligently and also provide the occasional long-range stunner, netting four times in the Premier League this term.
Now, Gunners icon Merson has heaped praise on the former Porto ace, stating that plenty of teams will be pursuing his signature at the end of the current campaign.
Writing in his SportsKeeda column, he said: "Every team will be looking at Ruben Neves now – he’s a proper player.”
Links to the tough-tackling midfielder have continued in recent times, with The Sun claiming that Arsenal will try and sign the £45million-rated playmaker in the summer whilst The London Evening Standard reported on Friday that the Gunners are 'long-term' admirers of Neves.
Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss Mourinho is also a huge fan of his compatriot, heaping praise on Neves after Wolves played out a 1-1 draw with Manchester United back in September 2018.
"It's a situation the players knew perfectly," Mourinho said.
"That they press in midfield, these two Portuguese boys (Neves and Joao Moutinho), they are both the kind of player that likes to bite, that likes to short distance, to press, they don't give long time for you to have the ball, to turn, one touch, two touches, you don't have much of that.
"So you concede in a situation that is even harder to accept but that is one goal that you concede and you have 90 minutes to show a different attitude and we have to do better."
