Ruben Neves was one of the more surprising players to depart for the Saudi Pro League in the summer in a £47million move from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The midfielder surprisingly joined Wolves in the Championship back in 2017 under Nuno Espírito Santo, and won promotion to the Premier League at the first time of asking with a side that garnered 99 points under the Portuguese boss. He didn’t stop there, marking his name in the top-flight with aplomb.
Missing just 13 games in the Premier League across five top-flight seasons at Molineux, Neves became a transfer target for many teams in the Champions League including the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Barcelona. As a result, Neves’ move to Al-Hilal in the summer – at the age of 26 – raised eyebrows. He’s now completed almost half a season in the division – and Birmingham Live takes a look at how he has fared in the Middle East.
In the league, it’s not been the busiest of spells in terms of attacking output for the midfielder. Having started all but one of Al-Hilal’s 10 league fixtures, Neves has registered zero goals and just one assist for his club, that coming in a 4-0 away win at Al-Raed in his third league appearance.
Three yellow cards in that time have shown his combative nature in midfield, but for a player who scored at least four goals per season for Wolves in all competitions, he’ll be aiming to get on the scoresheet in the league in the near future. Two Asian Champions League appearances and one where he failed to make the squad have resulted in seven points from a possible nine in Al-Hilal’s Group D – and Neves did bag his first goal for the club in the ‘King’s Cup’, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Al-Jabalain.
The club from the Saudi capital sit top of the league table and remain unbeaten throughout the season in all competitions as they aim to dominate proceedings domestically. They are the only side not to have lost a game as we hit the 10-game mark, with Al-Taawoun, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad forming the chasing pack.
Neves, as a result, is increasingly likely to win silverware for his new club should their ascendency continue – the first club title he will have earned since that famous Championship win back in 2018. He put pen to paper on a three-year deal with Al-Hilal when completing his move from Wolves in June.
