Wolves ‘told’ transfer decision for £35m target - as Aston Villa eye ‘hijack’ for deal

Barcelona are reportedly ‘not advancing’ with a swap deal involving winger Ansu Fati to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves. The Catalan giants were previously said to be considering the deal but a reliable report now states otherwise.

Neves, who signed for Wolves in 2017 for £15 million and has been a star man ever since, has been on Barcelona’s radar for a while. Fati, meanwhile, has become increasingly out of favour at Barça with just 11 starts and four goals in La Liga this season.

Reliable transfer news journalist Fabrizio Romano claims the deal is off despite speculation. “Barcelona are currently not advancing with Ansu Fati x Rubén Neves swap deal with Wolves despite links,” Romano wrote on Twitter.

“Neves and Ansu share the same agent — but the Portuguese midfielder isn’t a priority target for Barça manager Xavi,” Romano went on to say. This, due to the reporter’s high credibility, likely means Neves nor Fati will be moving in either direction between the two clubs.

Wolves could still lose Neves, however, as the 26-year-old has been linked with a move away for quite a while. With six goals and one assist in 32 Premier League appearances in a deep midfield role this season, it comes as no surprise that there’s plenty of interest from elsewhere.

The Portuguese international is undoubtedly of a level higher than where Wanderers find themselves at the moment. Even the rise under Julen Lopetegui is unlikely to persuade him to stay, but at least one club - Barcelona - is now seemingly out of the picture.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa eye transfer hijack

In other West Midlands football news, Wolves’ local rivals Aston Villa are reportedly trying to hijack West Ham United and Leeds United’s attempts to sign Lyon striker Moussa Dembele. The attacker’s contract expires at the end of the season and so he will become available on a free transfer.

This is according to Turkish outlet Fotomac, as its report claims Villa are one of the sides joining the race to sign the Frenchman in the summer transfer window. Having scored 152 goals and contributed 47 assists in 352 career games, Dembele could provide strong competition for Ollie Watkins at Villa Park.