Porto midfielder Ruben Neves says he wants to stay at the club, despite interest from Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.
Neves, 18, played a part in Porto’s Champions League victory over Chelsea earlier this season.
And the Blues were so impressed, they are reportedly preparing a £29m bid for his services in the summer.
Premier League rivals Arsenal and Liverpool are also said to be keen on Neves, who this season became the youngest player to start as captain in the Champions League, against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Despite the interest from abroad, Neves insists he wants to stay with Porto.
His playing style, in defensive midfield, has drawn comparisons to Joao Moutinho.
And Porto president Pinto da Costa is in agreement, stating that he wants Neves to stay for the rest of his career, and become a ‘symbol of the club’, as he himself was.
Pinto holds the record for most appearances for Porto, 587 between 1981 and 1997.
“We would like to keep him at FC Porto, as a kind of Joao Pinto,” Da Costa told Portuguese publication O Jogo.
“That is, he was a symbol and legend of the progress of the club for several generations. I never want him to leave Porto.”
Neves himself says he is happy to stay.
To hear the president say that he wants to make me a symbol of the club? It’s fantastic. This made me feel very proud,” Neves, who joined Porto as an eight-year-old, told the club magazine.
“I am under contract until June 2019 and, at the moment, I am only thinking about the club achieving its goals.”
By Steve Osborne @BlizzardSteve75
