Ruben Neves has enjoyed a very good start to the new season with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The 24-year-old midfield maestro has so far made eight appearances in the Premier League.
Seven of those have been 90-minute appearances, while one was a cameo against Southampton.
There was a fair bit of speculation about Neves in the summer.
Supposedly there was transfer interest from Arsenal, and then Manchester United.
Nothing materialised, and Wolves retaining him is looking rather significant.
He’s been one of Wolves’ best players so far, and his finest moment undoubtedly came at the weekend as he struck right at the death against Aston Villa.
Interestingly so far, Neves has made the most final third passes (67) in the Premier League, according to CLUB data.
Perhaps the best of those 67 passes came in the seconds before Daniel Podence crossed for Romain Saiss to score against Aston Villa.
It was Neves who clipped a beautiful little ball over the top for the Portuguese.
Playmaker Neves showing offensive qualities
Everybody knows how good of a passing range Neves has.
For the most part during his Wolves career, he has been operating as a deep-lying playmaker.
The fact he leads the way for final third passes is encouraging, as it suggests he is now playmaking with a purpose.
It suggests Wolves are having the ball higher up the pitch.
Given Neves is controlling things in these dangerous areas, it is only a matter of time before he grabs a first direct assist of the campaign.