da wazamba： Newcastle United have now reportedly made their first contact to sign Ruben Neves from Al-Hilal, as they look to find a solution for their current problems under Eddie Howe.
da betway： The Magpies were in dire form before the international break and defeat at the hands of Brentford just about summed things up. For the first time in his tenure at St James’ Park, Howe is under pressure to get things right and turn things around as soon as possible, but with Manchester City up next there’s no doubt that’s easier said than done.
The manager admitted that Newcastle’s Premier League form has “not been good” at a recent charity dinner, saying: “Our Premier League form has not been good, and our away form has not been good. [But] our home form’s been strong, been good in the Champions League and we’re still in the Carabao Cup, so it’s a mixture of things.
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“It’s been difficult to pinpoint one thing but certainly, we know we have to improve the general performances. We’re looking for more consistency – we’re looking for more goals.
“We’re looking for a big response in this moment and we’re going to need them because we have got game after game. Our schedule for the next two months is relentless, so we can’t allow any sort of negative trend to continue. It’s a really important few weeks for us.”
It’s form that has arrived off the back of a fairly chaotic summer transfer window, in which Newcastle missed out on almost every top target before turning elsewhere.
Under new sporting director Ross Wilson, that simply cannot happen in January and the Magpies have already set their sights on stars such as Elliot Anderson and Neves in a midfield rebuild as a result.
Newcastle make contact to sign Neves
As reported by Caught Offside, Newcastle have now made contact to sign Neves from Al-Hilal in 2026. The midfielder has just over six months left on his current contract and will be available for just €20m (£18m) in the January transfer window.
Whilst PIF, who hold a majority stake in Al-Hilal, could be about to lose Neves in Saudi Arabia, they could use their existing relationship with the Portuguese star to bring him to Newcastle.
Unlike Al-Hilal, however, the Magpies could struggle to meet his current wage demands. As things stand, the 28-year-old earns £15m-a-year in Saudi Arabia, which would instantly make him Newcastle’s highest-earner by around £7m. It’s simply not doable unless he brings his demands down.
Putting those wage demands to one side, though, there’s little doubt that Neves would be an excellent signing. Dubbed “fantastic” by former manager Nuno Espirito Santo during his time at Wolves, Neves would ease Newcastle’s fears of struggling in the face of a potential Sandro Tonali exit and could even form an impressive partnership using the Italian.
Find a way past his salary demands and those in Tyneside should go all out to bring Neves back to the Premier League in 2026.
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