'Very advanced' - £47m Newcastle United target makes fresh transfer claim after Man Utd & Arsenal links

Former Premier League midfielder Ruben Neves has no plans to return to Europe following his £47million move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal last summer.

Neves established himself as a key player during his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers in England and was linked with a number of clubs. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe admitted to 'liking' Neves during his time in the Premier League but the midfielder's move to Al Hilal only further fuelled transfer speculation linking the midfielder with a move to St James' Park.

Al Hilal and Newcastle are both majority-owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. And with Newcastle in need of midfield reinforcements during the January transfer window, Neves was linked with a potential loan move back to the Premier League.

A Premier League vote to stop party-related loans failed to pass, effectively giving The Magpies a green light to do deals with PIF-owned Saudi Pro League sides.

While Howe admitted he was 'open' to doing business with Saudi Pro League clubs, Newcastle chief executive Darren Eales said: "There is no intention as things stand to do any loans from the PIF clubs in Saudi Arabia."

Neves has repeatedly played down talk of a move away from Al Hilal, where he has made 34 appearances this season, scoring five goals.

And in a recent interview with O Jogo, the 26-year-old said: "I feel no difference between Saudi and European leagues. I’m not planning to return soon. “Saudi can have one of the best leagues in the world within two years. Quality of players joining here is excellent, it looks like PlayStation!"

Following PIF's takeover of Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, Al Ahli and Al Nassr, a number of major transfers to the Saudi Pro League have followed after Cristiano Ronaldo initially joined last winter.

Neves has been targeted by the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Barcelona as well as Newcastle. While he was close to staying in Europe, the deals failed to materialise. "Last summer I’ve been close to joining three European clubs, then it didn’t happen," he added. "Barcelona was something really concrete. It was very close. To be honest, it was the same for Arsenal deal; it was very advanced then collapsed."