Jorge Mendes is trying to get Newcastle to be interested in signing £40m captain

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Such is the standing of Newcastle United these days, it is surely a good thing for agents to link their players with a move.

Backed by big money and a Champions League team next season, indexing names for a move to Newcastle would certainly make sense from their perspective.

The club have been linked with so many individuals already this summer, it’s hard to keep a track.

Ruben Neves, however, stands out.

Thought to be open to leaving Wolves given the Portugal international has entered the final year of his contract, the midfielder has been touted as a target for Eddie Howe.

All, however, may not be as it seems.

Jorge Mendes pushing for Newcastle to sign Ruben Neves

According to The Sun, super-agent Jorge Mendes features prominently in the Neves situation.

They claim Mendes is trying to use Barcelona’s “weak” interest in the £40m-rated 26-year-old to drive Arsenal and Newcastle into making a move.

Neves is reportedly keen to leave Molineux and the Magpies are said to have considered making a move, albeit having since moved onto other targets.

As it stands, the Wolves captain isn’t thought to be on Eddie Howe’s radar, though Mendes is looking to change that.

Newcastle surely too clever for that

While Neves is certainly a Premier League-proven player with experience in the Champions League, the report suggests there is no interest.

Still, it would hardly be a surprise to see Mendes maintaining his attempts to drive up interest in Neves, such is his standing as an agent.

Newcastle, however, will surely have been dealing with this kind of thing since the takeover.

Little about what they have done in the transfer market in the PIF era would suggest they are willing to be strong-armed into doing deals they do not wish to do, so Mendes might be barking up the wrong tree.