Losing Ruben & Joao would be Bruno KO blow

BRUNO LAGE says Wolves cannot afford to lose Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho this summer.

As he prepares for a final push for European qualification, the Molineux boss has warned that the departures of both of his key midfielders before the start of next season would be “very hard” to stomach.

Lage has slapped a £100million price tag on Neves, but can’t put a padlock on veteran Moutinho, who is out of contract.

However, Wolves’ Portuguese coach will have little choice but to sell if one of the continent’s big clubs comes calling for 25-year-old Neves.

Moutinho, 35, will be able to leave on a free when his deal runs out in two months’ time.

Lage (right) knows the quality he has on his hands

– and how difficult it would be to replace even one of them. Asked if he could cope losing both, he said:

“It would be hard. If we miss one, it’s hard. If we miss two, it’s harder still.

“Where can you find a player like Ruben? Where can you find a player like Joao?

“We would be missing two guys who have been playing together for the last three years and they know the role.

“Ruben is the first midfielder, Joao is the second. They know each other, and know how each plays.

“Both of them – and Leander Dendoncker who is fantastic and always ready to play – when you have these guys you can see how much the team has grown up.

“We need good players and I want them to showcase how good they are. They understand the game. And Joao especially.

“Everyone wants him to stay. He wants to stay. Now it’s a question of the numbers.”

Neves’s future is likely to be dictated by the calibre of clubs circling Wolves’ prize asset – and the depth of their pockets.

The Black Country club is in no rush, and under no immediate pressure, to off-load the

25-year-old, who has two years left to run on his existing deal.

He is not available for today’s trip to east Lancashire through injury. But several predators are likely to be lurking. The decision on whether the price is right to sell is likely to be out of Lage’s hands.

Moutinho is the second mostcapped Portuguese player of all-time behind Cristiano Ronaldo and continues to impress his boss.

Lage said: “We were doing a small exercise in the warm-up. There were four teams.

“Even in that game, he wanted to win. So he prepared a strategy for his team.

“Twenty-five years in the game and he still wanted to win. It’s exactly what we want.

“It sets an example for the youngsters.

“They will be thinking, ‘If Joao

wants to win this game in the warm-up, I can only imagine how much he wants to win in the Premier

League’.

“The culture comes in training, not just from the manager.

“Joao, Conor Coady, Dendoncker, Romain Saiss… these are good examples that the kids should see and they should follow.

“In the end, after the exercise, I shook Joao by the hand.

“It’s very hard to find men like him. He wants to stay. And everyone here wants him to stay.”