Barcelona-linked 26-year-old midfielder has rejected an offer from Arsenal – report

According to reports in English media, as relayed by Mundo Deportivo, Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves has rejected a proposal from fellow Premier League side Arsenal as he is willing to wait for Barcelona to make an offer.

The outlet claims that if Barcelona decide not to go ahead with his signing, the Portugal international will end up joining Arsenal, as he also values the Gunners quite seriously.

Neves has been on Barça’s radar for quite a long time. The 26-year-old, who has a contract with Wolves until 2024, has already agreed personal terms with the Blaugrana but the team is yet to final a decision yet.

It is said that the player’s representative, Jorge Mendes, first offered his client to Barcelona as a potential replacement for Sergio Busquets. At the moment, however, the team is contemplating other options such as Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi and Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich.

As far as Zubimendi is concerned, the cost of the operation would cost Barcelona in excess of €60 million, meaning that the management must come up with a solution if they are serious about his acquisition.

Interestingly enough, both Barcelona and Real Sociedad recently spoke about the midfielder during a recent board members’ lunch where the latter expressed that they are quite interested in signing Barcelona players Abde Ezzalzouli, Pablo Torre, and Nico Gonzalez.

In any way, as far as Neves is concerned, the 26-year-old is certainly not being considered as Busquets’ replacement.

As reported before, although Xavi is considering the midfielder’s acquisition, the 26-year-old will only be acquired if Franck Kessie leaves. If not, the manager will ask the management to pursue the established targets.