Man City ‘looking at former Wolves star Ruben Neves' and more transfer rumours

Manchester City are reportedly in the market for former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves, who has been tipped for a January move away from Saudi Arabia.

The Portuguese playmaker has been closely linked with Newcastle, who are searching for a fill-in for Sandro Tonali amid his 10-month betting ban. However, Football Insider claims Neves is a target of Pep Guardiola as he spies a replacement for Kalvin Phillips.

Phillips has started just one of his eight club games this season and is set to be the subject of interest from Premier League rivals in January. Neves left Wolves for Saudi club Al-Hilal over the summer but is supposedly in line for a return to England.

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The report claims Guardiola is a big fan of Neves, 26, who is on his list of potential future targets.

Meanwhile, Sport says Joao Cancelo’s hopes of a permanent move to Barcelona hang in the balance. The Spanish outlet claims City have put a €50m (£44m) price tag on the defender and will refuse to loan him out for another year.

Cancelo arrived at the Nou Camp on a season-long loan this summer having spent the second half of last season at Bayern Munich amid his rift with Guardiola. Bayern rejected the chance to sign Cancelo for £61.5m as per his buy-out clause.

City have now seemingly lowered their price but their new valuation would still be too much for Barcelona, who would aim to lower the cost. Arsenal and Saudi clubs had an interest in Cancelo in the last window but his heart was set on Barcelona, the report adds.

The club have publicly refrained from declaring their interest in a permanent deal just yet with concerns over his wage demands,