Eddie Howe drops Ruben Neves hint and responds to Premier League vote

Eddie Howe has revealed that Ruben Neves was “a player we liked” while at Wolves, confirming Newcastle’s interest in the Portuguese midfielder.

The club is expected to launch a loan bid for the Al-Hilal star in January. However, over the last 48 hours, it has emerged that Premier League clubs will vote to ‘temporarily ban’ related-party loan deals, with PIF majority owners of Newcastle and the Saudi Pro League side.

When asked if we’re interested in Neves and what he thought about the Premier League vote, Howe said:

 

“It is very difficult to talk about one individual player. Of course he’s a player we liked when he was at Wolves.

“I would not know the motives behind the rule changes coming in. It’s very difficult for me to give an opinion on them. We just have to react to the rules as they come in.

“We have been watching events as everyone else has and we will wait and see what the result of that vote is. It’s very difficult for me to comment from our perspective. I’ll let you make assessments on what’s happened.”

Howe rarely divulges information about players from other clubs, so the fact that he confirmed our admiration could be telling. However, it will be meaningless if the Premier League vote on November 21st prevents us from making a January loan bid for the midfielder.