Pep Guardiola has confirmed Manchester City "are not going to pay £100m for a holding midfielder" with Ruben Neves being linked to the Etihad Stadium.
Neves has scored twice and set up one for Wolves this season (image via Wolves FC).
The Wolves midfielder has been linked with a move to Manchester after starting off the season in excellent fashion for the newly-promoted side.
When put to Guardiola if Neves would perhaps suit the way City play: "He's an excellent player but there are many clubs in the world, many holding midfielders in the world, and most of them in the world, and most of them can play there. That's not the point.
"Most of them are under contracts. A month ago, I started reading - 'Ruben Neves, £100m'. That is not going to happen. We are not going to pay £100m for a holding midfielder. Of course, in all departments in the club, we have in every position four or five or six options - depending on age, what we believe and, of course, the price.
"The most expensive one was Riyad (Mahrez, from Leicester City for £60m last summer) and he earns far away from what the top teams pay. Our wage bill for the players is eighth or ninth in Europe, so there are eight or nine clubs where the wages are higher than Manchester City pay.
"We try to be stable in everything. When we spent a lot (two summers ago) - it was because the team was old - it was an average 30-31 years old and that's why we did it. But we cannot do it every season. We have a limit and cannot spend more so that's why we need to be careful with the players and try next season to see what we can do to improve."