This summer, Wolverhampton Wanderers lost a number of excellent players to other suitors during the off-season. Matheus Nunes, Nathan Collins, Ruben Neves, and numerous other players moved on after making an impression at Molineux over several seasons as fan favorites.
Notwithstanding the unfavorable circumstances surrounding his appointment, Gary O’Neil has led Wolves to victory since replacing Julen Lopetegui, who resigned from the position after just 27 games in charge.
Six points above the relegation zone, where many had predicted the Old Gold to be before the season’s first 38 games even began, Wolves presently sit in 14th place in the Premier League.
Key performers at Molineux’s 12 games include Hwang Hee-Chan, who is up top with seven goals in all competitions, alongside Matheus Cunha, who offers O’Neil’s men a creative outlet centrally. Pedro Neto has also been a star player for the Wolves, but he now faces a lengthy spell out of the side owing to a hamstring concern.
Regardless of the positive start made by the Wanderers, Neves’ absence in midfield is still felt, with the 26-year-old outperforming current Wolves midfield duo Mario Lemina and João Gomes in Saudi Arabia.
The price at which Wolves signed Neves

When Neves signed for a club record of £15.8 million at the time—a record since surpassed by Cunha’s arrival—it was considered a major coup for the team, particularly because Wolves were still playing in the Championship.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s presence in the dug-out sealed the deal, with Neves’ former Porto manager at the Wolves helm in 2017.
The move was instantly a match made in heaven, with the Portuguese midfielder bowing out of Molineux earlier this year as a true club legend after being sold by Lopetegui prior to his resignation.
The number of Neves at Wolves
During his six-season tenure in the West Midlands, the 26-year-old made over 250 appearances for the Old Gold, contributing 30 goals and 13 assists from his holding midfield position.
Spearheading his side’s charge back to the Premier League in his first full season, Neves would be a constant as Wolves reached new heights finishing seventh in back-to-back campaigns to clinch European football after promotion and then battled against the drop before he packed his bags for pastures new in Al-Hilal.
Ruben Neves’ Wolves career in numbers | |||
---|---|---|---|
Season | Games | Goals | Assists |
2017/18 | 42 | 6 | 1 |
2018/19 | 40 | 5 | 4 |
2019/20 | 54 | 4 | 3 |
2020/21 | 40 | 5 | 2 |
2021/22 | 36 | 4 | 2 |
2022/23 | 41 | 6 | 1 |
Stats via Transfermarkt. |
He is continuing to impress in his new surroundings, outperforming both Lemina and Gomes who have had to pick up the pieces in the centre of the park back at Molineux following the exit of the former captain.
Neves’s stats after departing from Wolves
Week in and week out, Al-Hilal’s new number eight has been a fixture in the Saudi Professional League starting lineup, sharing the field with former Premier League players Aleksandar Mitrović and Kalidou Koulibaly.
After 17 games, he has two goals and one assist for his new team, both of which came in the King’s Cup away from league issues.
It was his performance versus Al-Shabab recently that showed off his previous Premier League playing credentials, not assisting or scoring in front of his new adoring Al-Hilal masses but stylishly going about his business to rubber-stamp his pedigree.
Fizzing the ball all over the pitch in this contest—as accurate as nine of his 13 long passes attempted via Sofascore—Neves’ new Saudi supporters would have been impressed with his calmness to play teammates into the game but also his authority to go in for eight tackles in the game too.
It’s in the goal department, however, where Neves is more missed. The aforementioned Gomes and his midfield partner have only contributed to one goal throughout the entire season to date.
The Portuguese holding midfielder could well even return to English top-flight action with Newcastle United if the proposed controversial deal is given the green light, with Wolves fans dreaming that their former number eight would hop on a plane for a Molineux reunion instead.