Wolverhampton Wanderers' star midfielder Ruben Neves has "got to move" according to Journalist Josh Holland.

What's the word?

That is via quotes from GIVEMESPORT, which claims that Old Gold boss Bruno Lage could find himself in a "predicament" over Neves' future at Molineux, after failing to qualify for Europe.

Wolves' 1-1 draw with Norwich City last time out means that with just one game to go, they cannot finish higher than eighth in the Premier League. 

Meanwhile, with Neves' on-going links to Barcelona, his future at Molineux looks doubtful, though Holland believes that the Portugal star has "got to move" from the West Midlands.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said:

"If you lose Neves with no European football, Bruno Lage could be in a bit of a predicament because if they sell Neves with no European football, are they going to get back?

“I know we spoke about players last year and the ambition of it, but I think he’s got to move.

“I think I saw his agent was at lunch with people from Barcelona.”

Bad news for Wolves

Holland's latest claim over seeing Mendes entertaining lunch with Barcelona representatives does not bode well for his Molineux future. In fact, amidst Wolves' lack of European football, it suggests that Neves is entirely ready to move on from the side that he been at since 2017.

Wolves face a big decision as to what kind of player they will look to replace Neves with.

If Lage sticks with the 3-4-3 system, he should look for a central midfielder who can cover both parts of the game.

On the other hand, if he looks to shift into a four-at the back set up or continue with the 3-5-2 system that has been deployed in recent weeks, he should look for an out-and-out defensive midfielder like Wolves target Joao Palhinha - whose primary focus is to hold the midfield together and win the ball back in the mid third of the pitch.

Neves can do both aspects, which is why he has been so instrumental to Wolves over the last five seasons, scoring 24 goals in the process, the majority of which have been long-range screamers.

He has been capable of producing moments of magic and thus, if he does head for the departure lounge, supporters will be gutted.

Unfortunately, with no European football and sitting at the age of 25, a move to Barcelona is surely too tempting.

In other news: Wolves can finally wave farewell to Neves by signing 22y/o "rare bright spark"