There is no doubt that Wolverhampton Wanderers find themselves in a relegation battle this season, and the Old Gold could be set to suffer a significant blow to their survival hopes in January.

While there have been a number of disappointing performers at Wolves so far this season, Ruben Neves has been far and away their star player, with his WhoScored average rating of 7.01 comfortably the best of any player in the Old Gold squad.

It is no surprise, therefore, that he is being linked with an exit in January, with LaLiga giants Barcelona seemingly one side keen on prising the Portuguese maestro away from Molineux.

Journalist Dean Jones provided the latest on Neves' future at Wolves in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, in an update which will surely concern interim manager Steve Davis.

He said: "He's got plenty of interest in two or three countries and at clubs that are in the Champions League or at least knocking on the door to play in the Champions League.

"At the moment, the team he's playing for are nowhere near that level, so they've done well to keep hold of him up to now, but it'd be a big, big battle to keep hold of him for any longer."

Given that Wolves are currently languishing in 19th place in the Premier League standings, supporters might not blame Neves for wanting to test himself at a higher level, having spent more than five years at Molineux since joining from Porto in 2017.

However, it would leave Wolves in an extremely precarious situation if their captain were to leave, having already lost influential names such as Conor Coady and Romain Saiss during the summer.

The "outstanding" Neves is currently Wolves' joint top scorer with just two goals, so his departure would also see the Old Gold's essentially non-existent goal threat limited even further.

Therefore, Davis will be desperate to keep hold of Neves until the end of the season at least, as his form so far this season suggests that he will be vital in keeping the Old Gold in the Premier League.