Manchester United are 'set to make a final push to snap up Wolves star Ruben Neves this summer' with Erik ten Hag a 'big fan' of the £70m midfielder... although the Red Devils face competition from Barcelona for his signature 

• Manchester United rumoured to have been chasing him for around 12 months
• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer instigated the club's interest in Ruben Neves last summer
• Erik ten Hag, the new United manager, is believed to be a big fan of the player 

Manchester United are set to make a final push to sign Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves as they look to bolster their ranks ahead of next season. 

Erik ten Hag, the new Manchester United boss, is reported to be looking to rebuild the club's midfield with the expected departure of Paul Pogba on a free next month freeing up room for new additions.  

Neves' contract with Wolves is until 2024, but the West Midlands club's attempts to renew it appear to have been brushed away.  

Neves, it was reported by The Sun, has been on Manchester United's radar for 12 months with ex-boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the first to instigate the club's interest in the player. 

Manchester United reportedly saw a £35m bid turned down in January for the player, with Wolves seemingly holding out for a much bigger fee than that offered by the Red Devils. 

Wolves reportedly told Manchester United that they wanted closer to £40m to let him go in January, while they are thought to want to command a fee of around £50m for him to go in this summer transfer window. 

It was reported that the club, in the next few weeks, will look to step up their chase of the player who they have courted for a significant period of time. 

Some continuity has been found from the previous regimes to the new one with the interest in the player seemingly transcending incumbents. 

Ten Hag, who took over from Ralf Rangnick this week ahead of a crucial summer at the club, is said to be a big fan of the player and would be interested in bringing him to the club. 

Manchester United's issue is that with no Champions League football and the club needing a significant rebuild, they have competition for targets. 

Barcelona, looking to build on Xavi Hernandez's impressive revolution at the club, are wanting to bolster their ranks and they can offer Europe's elite competition to players. 

Whether or not the Catalans have the money to complete a deal for the Portuguese is another matter, however, with their financial situation said to still be precarious. 

Wolves are said to have accepted their fate with Neves and will not stand in the players way should the right offer come in. 

Bruno Lage will look to arrest a sharp decline in results at the back end of the 2021/22 season with some clever summer business, with Sporting midfielder Palhinha reportedly earmarked as a Neves replacement. 

The player is a client of Jorge Mendes, the Portuguese super-agent who enjoys a close relationship with the West Midlands, and is believed to have pricked the ears of Lage.