Arsenal have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to bring Ruben Neves to the Emirates Stadium in the January transfer window.
What's the talk?
That's according to a report by The Times, who claim that, despite the central midfielder entering the final 18 months of his contract at Wolverhampton Wanderers in January, Julen Lopetegui is unwilling to part with the 25-year-old this winter, with the Spaniard preferring to wait until the summer before considering cashing in on the Portugal international.
This is sure to have come as a huge blow to Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, with the 40-year-old manager reported to be interested in a £40m move for the former FC Porto star in January, while the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool and Manchester United are also thought the be keen on the Wolves talisman.
Dream Rice alternative
Considering just how impressive Neves has been so far this season, coupled with central midfield undoubtedly being the area of Arteta's squad that is in need of the most work heading into the second half of the current campaign, the argument that Arteta simply must move for the Portuguese sensation - even if it means paying a premium - in January is an easy one to make.
Indeed, despite Wolves' struggles in the league this season, the £34.5m-rated talent has nevertheless shone over his 14 Premier League appearances, having already hit the back of the net four times - making him his club's top scorer - as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots, making 0.9 key passes and completing 0.4 dribbles per game.
The £50k-per-week engine has also impressed in metrics more typically associated with his position, making an average of 2.9 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, 2.4 clearances and winning 4.5 duels - at a success rate of 53% - per match, as well as playing an average of 7.1 long balls, 5.1 chipped passes and completing 52.1 total passes - at a success rate of 85% - per outing.
These returns have seen the player who David Cartlidge dubbed "unreal" average a quite staggering Sofascore match rating of 7.29, not only ranking him as Wolves' best performer in the league but also as the joint 13th-best player in the top flight of English football as a whole.
Also, considering that Arsenal will likely have to cough up around £70m - £30m more than Neves' asking price - in order to land another of their reported central midfield targets in Declan Rice this winter, and with Neves currently outperforming the England international in the league, the Wolves star could well be an unreal alternative to the 23-year-old.
As such, even if Arsenal were to pay slightly over the odds for Neves this winter, it would very much appear worth beating the likes of United and Liverpool in the race for the midfielder's signing, as the 25-year-old would undoubtedly represent an "astonishing" - in the words of Graeme Bailey - addition to the Gunners' current options in the middle of the park.