Rio Ferdinand praises Bruno Lage and Ruben Neves

Former England defender Rio Ferdinand paid tribute to Wolves duo Bruno Lage and Ruben Neves after this weekend’s 2-1 win over Leicester.

Lage is guiding Wolves to a European challenge and he has already sung the praises of the Molineux boss back in November.

Neves opened the scoring against the Foxes on Sunday and Ferdinand said he liked the Portugal international who he says is better than the options in the engine room at his old club Manchester United.

Wolves of course won 1-0 at Old Trafford last month, with Neves putting in another masterclass.

“I tell you a manager who needs a bit of love is the Wolves manager right now – wow!” said Ferdinand.

On Ruben Neves, he said: “I like him, he’s fantastic. He keeps the ball, he keeps it as well as anyone. Really good footballer.”

When it was put to Ferdinand that Neves represented a better option than Manchester United’s current midfield duo of Scott McTominay and Fred, Ferdinand said: “He probably does.”

Wolves’ win at Tottenham seemed to get a few pundits and experts sitting up to take notice and they are now firmly in the chase for European football.

The Champions League is still a possibility and their chances have improved by getting everyone back fit and available for the first time this season.

But this Wolves squad have hovered around seventh every season since their promotion back to the big time with the exception of last term when Raul Jimenez’s injury derailed the campaign.

This is no fluke and Lage is pushing his players on again with Neves being one who looks to be profiting as much as anybody.

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