Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Kenny Hibbitt reckons Ruben Neves needs to be playing further forwards.
The 24-year-old has often been deployed just in front of the back three this season.
That’s a position he’s done well in, as it makes good use of his fantastic passing range.
But since the turn of the year, Neves has roamed a little further forwards, and Hibbitt thinks he should be taking up such positions more often.
He said (via Shropshire Star): “I’ve always rated Neves. It just seems sometimes he’s been asked to sit in front of the back four, when he’s got better quality than that, for me.
“As a midfielder, my job was to link up with the front men and get in the box when it went wide.
“He’s a creative player, who can make good passes and open defences up.
“He’s a lovely striker of the ball, so when you’ve got that in your armoury, you should push yourself to get more shots on goal.”
Hibbitt has a point
At the very least, Neves should be a central midfielder.
Not defensive, not attacking, just central.
While he has come up with several goals in 2021, he can obviously still be effective from deeper positions.
He’s a very astute tackler and interceptor, and the team would lose those particular aspects of his game by pushing him higher up. Given his fantastic engine and strong all-round game, perhaps a box-to-box role would be best.