Lawrence Faucette is now breathing independently, and his heart is functioning without the need for any supportive devices following the surgery

“I want to play Champions League football,” said Ruben Neves, as, all of a month ago, he explained why he might leave Wolves. Maybe he had just omitted a word, because, after winning the Saudi league, Al Hilal can provide him with that chance. He is bound for the Asian Champions League. A swift change of destination on the exit from Molineux – to Riyadh rather than Barcelona – has left Neves accused of paying greater attention to his wallet than his heart, to his bank balance than his ambitions. If many of the others decamping to Saudi Arabia are in their thirties, signing up for a final pay day, Neves is 26. He may be a trendsetter if others in their prime follow suit or, like Oscar, who left Chelsea for China at 25, be seen as a player who gave up his seat at the top table too soon. The simplistic accusation may be to brand Neves a mercenary. The reality may be more complex: not for the first time, he is an example of trends in the modern game. He is joining Al Hilal for £47m; the price could appear inflated, given that he had a solitary year left on his contract at Wolves, or market value, considering his class as a passer. Either way, it put him beyond Barcelona’s reach, even before the availability of Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer meant they could acquire a top-class alternative rather cheaper. The dream move was stripped of any realism. Barcelona’s financial difficulties have altered the equation for many another who might otherwise have been bound for Catalonia, as Neves’ Portugal teammate Bernardo Silva can testify. The broader collapse of the European transfer market is part of a wider theme affecting Premier League clubs and their greater struggle to sell. There are only a handful on the continent capable of paying a £47m fee for a midfielder; if, for various reasons, they can be ruled out, it reduces the alternatives to the big buyers in England. That they have overlooked Neves points in part to the high number of talented midfielders on the market this summer, but also to the sense he is a man out of time. A languid passer may not suit sides with a greater focus on pressing. Neves may not be a Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta-style midfielder. But the changing dynamics in the game may have meant he was an ever more incongruous presence at Molineux. Odd as it felt that he traded the Champions League – where, at 18, he was its youngest ever captain in his Porto days – for the Championship, his first three years at Wolves were an unqualified success, with promotion and successive seventh-place finishes. The last three, however, have been underwhelming, with mid-table finishes, a lack of goals, and this season, a flirtation with relegation. Neves has still been excellent. Wolves have not been. He has been their classiest player since their golden age more than six decades ago; the added benefit was that he stayed for six years and 253 games. The axis of Neves and Joao Moutinho brought a level of style Wolves may not see again in midfield for decades. But if Neves is leaving a traditional club for a new player in the football firmament, an alternative perspective is to say he has traded one moneyed project where Jorge Mendes has exerted an influence and where Portuguese players have signed up for another. The super-agent has a habit of spotting opportunities and Wolves, under the ownership of Fosun, provided one. Not that Wolves provides such scope for signings this summer. As even Julen Lopetegui seems to have belatedly acknowledged, they have an issue with Financial Fair Play. Heavy spending in the last two windows was often misguided – Goncalo Guedes and Matheus Cunha, particularly – while a lack of buyers on the continent means Wolves cannot recoup much of their money. Neves was one of the few remaining assets, a footballer who had publicly said his time was up without having a better exit strategy. Lower mid-table at Wolves followed by a spell in Saudi Arabia was scarcely the career trajectory that many envisaged when he was skippering Porto in the Champions League as a teenager. Sympathy may be in short supply, given the probable scale of his remuneration. He may be happy at Al Hilal. But Neves, a quality player at his peak, seemed short of options. And if that is a shame, it is also part of a bigger picture. Once again, Neves is a sign of how the game is changing. Read More Saudi Arabia money has turned transfers into ‘chaos’ – will it last? N’Golo Kante, the midfield miracle worker who changed football

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Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Russia, the Belarusian president has said – despite an agreement with the Kremlin he would move to Belarus in the wake of a short-lived rebellion against Moscow last month. The statements from President Alexander Lukashenko raise fresh questions about the deal the end what was an extraordinary challenge to the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "As for Prigozhin, he's in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus," Mr Lukashenko – who helped broker the deal to end the Wagner march on Moscow – said. He added that that "as far as I know" the rest of the Wagner fighters were still at their bases. That could mean eastern Ukraine, where Mr Prigozhin's forces have been involved ins some of the fiercest fighting that has followed Moscow's invasion of the country, or a Wagner training base in Russia's Krasnodar region. Mr Lukashenko said that an offer to Wagner to station some of its forces in Belarus still stands but that, at least for now, "the issue of their relocation has not been resolved". Having said last week that Mr Prigozhin was in Belarus, on Thursday he told reporters that the Wagner chief was in St Petersburg, where he has a home and offices, and that he could also travel to Moscow if he wishes. Part of the deal between Mr Prigozhin and the Kremlin was that all charges against him would be dropped. The Belarusian president suggested that Mr Prigozhin has been given back the cash and weapons that were confiscated by Russian authorities. Reports in local St Petersburg media on Wednesday had also suggested that Mr Prigozhin was in the city to collect the arsenal. A business jet linked to Mr Prigozhin left St Petersburg for Moscow on Wednesday and headed to southern Russia on Thursday, according to flight tracking data, but it was not clear if he had been on board. It was later tracked flying north again. Mr Lukashenko said that that he had spoken to Mr Prigozhin by phone on Wednesday and that he and his Wagner forces intended to continue to work for Russia. The details around Mr Prigozhin's deal with the Kremlin are still murky and the Wagner's movements may be linked to him being allowed to tie up his affairs. But it seems extraordinary that Mr Putin would allow Mr Prigozhin to move with impunity, given the cracks in the Russian president's authority Mr Prigozhin's munity appeared to expose. The latest developments may suggest that the threat posed by Mr Prigozhin has not yet been fully defused and that the Kremlin is treading carefully until it can figure out what to do with troops who may still be loyal to him. But the current situation does not exactly project the strongman image that Mr Putin has built his rule upon. The Kremlin sought to act nonchalantly when asked about Mr Prigozhin's movements on Thursday. "No, we do not follow his movements, we have neither the ability nor the desire to do so," Mr Putin's spokesman – Dmitri Peskov – said. But a better view of the probable thoughts of those inside the Kremlin was provided by state media and pro-Krelim sources. Online newspapers Fontanka and Izvestia posted videos and photos of Mr Prigozhin's opulent mansion that showed stacks of cash and gold bullion. The Rossiya 1 television channel also aided footage from what it said was a raid by Russian security services on the St Petersburg mansion, while hosts called for Mr Prigozhin to face "accountability" for what was a treacherous act. All this plays into the idea that while Mr Prigozhin has postured as an enemy of corrupt elites, he owes his wealth to Mr Putin. Russian media also published a collection of selfies that showed him posing in various wigs, fake beards and foreign uniforms, seemingly another attempt to embarrass. Mr Lukashenko said that he would discuss the situation in an upcoming meeting with Mr Putin. Mr Lukashenko said Mr Prigozhin had his liberty but that journalists were naive if they thought Russian security services were not keeping a very close eye on him. However, the Belarusian leader shrugged off suggestions that Mr Putin might order Mr Prigozhin killed, saying: "If you think that Putin is so vicious and vindictive to finish him off, no, it's not going to happen." The Belarusian leader said he doesn't think the mercenaries' presence in his country would lead to its destabilisation and said any Wagner troops there would be required to sign a contract with Belarusian authorities that would outline conditions and limitations of their actions. Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich told the Associated Press, however, that Mr Lukashenko could feel uneasy about Wagner's presence on his turf. "If this structure rebelled against its master once, it can do it again and again and march on Minsk instead of marching on Moscow," Mr Karbalevich said. Asked about the deployment of Russia's tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Mr Lukashenko claimed they are intended to deter any aggression against the country. "Don't touch us, and we will never use these deadly weapons," he said. In Ukraine, Russia fired cruise missiles at the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, killing at least five people in an apartment building. Ukrainian officials said it was the heaviest attack on civilian areas of the city since Moscow's forces invaded the country last year. Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Bulgaria yesterday as part of a tour to drum up support from allies ahead of a Nato summit next week. Mr Zelensky then travelled to Prague to meet with Czech officials on Thursday night. In Washington, the administration of Joe Biden has decided to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine and is expected to announce on Friday that the Pentagon will send thousands as part of the latest military aid package for the war effort against Russia. The controversial weapons drop dozens of bomblets that human rights groups say endanger civilians as they release over a wide area, and they can continue to pose a deadly risk long after fighting has stopped. Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Wagner chief Prigozhin is in Russia, president of Belarus says Son of jailed Belarusian presidential hopeful handed 8-year sentence Belarus opposition leader says anonymous note alleges that her husband died in prison

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