Paul Merson says nobody at Chelsea can do what Ruben Neves can do

Wolves are preparing to take on European champions Chelsea tomorrow at Molineux.

Ruben Neves will likely be matched up against Thomas Tuchel’s midfield two, with both teams favouring variations on a 3-4-3 system.

Ahead of the game, Soccer Saturday pundit Paul Merson said that Neves is good enough to play for Chelsea and would give them something they currently lack.

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Merson said on Sky Sports News (1:57pm, December 18, 2021): “I think Chelsea are missing a Neves. I think they are missing a player who can spray the ball around the pitch.

“Mateo Kovacic likes taking players on, Jorginho won’t pass it more than ten yards, just keep it ticking over, N’Golo Kante is an all over the pitch kind of player.

“They’ve got nobody who sprays the ball around like a Neves. The amount of runs the front three made the other night (vs Everton) and no-one’s hitting them.

“That opens the game up. Even if it doesn’t open the game up, the defenders drop back ten yards and everyone else can get on the ball.”

There was talk about Neves’ future in the summer but no serious bid came in and Chelsea were not mentioned in connection with him.

The Portuguese playmaker provided another example of his quality in midweek when he set up Romain Saiss’ winner against Brighton.

With Chelsea struggling for numbers in central midfield, there is an opportunity there for Neves to dominate and again show he is capable of mixing it with any engine room in the division.

Wolves fans will not really appreciate Merson touting one of their players around, but it is an indication of the quality they all know Neves has.

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