Wolves have reportedly been keeping close tabs on İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. winger, Eljero Elia. The newly-promoted side had earlier sent their scouts to the Besiktas and Galatasaray games to keep a check on the 31-year-old.
Elia has been rather impressive in his first season in Turkey’s top-flight with 8 goals and 3 assists in 29 appearances in all competitions. He has fit in perfectly into Abdullah Avcı’s system and has helped in keeping the side alive in the title hunt.
Currently, Istanbul are in the second spot of the Super Lig, just a point behind Galatasaray. Elia’s contract with the side will run for another 12 months.
He was highly impressive during his early stint with Feyenoord as well. He was a key figure in the club’s title win last season and left the side with the ‘Best Player Of The Season’ award.
He slotted in 18 from his 68 total appearances for the Dutch outfit and already has prior Premier League experience.
He had spent six months out on loan with Southampton while on employment at the Bundesliga side, Werder Bremen. The Saints allowed him to feature in 17 games in which he scored 2.
Elia is one of the experienced heads who has bounced around Europe for the entirety of his playing career. Ranging from clubs like ADO Den Haag, FC Twente and Hamburger SV, the 31-year-old even had a short stint with the Italian giants, Juventus.
He was a highly rated prospect in the Netherlands youth team and was later capped 28 times for the senior side. Standing at 5 feet 9 inches tall, Elia has the pace and agility to breeze past opposition fullbacks when on the ball.
His skills are not solely based on delivering crosses from the wide areas. The Dutchman can spread the floor but at the same time can make a significant impact on the opposition goal.
He has the eye for the right pass and will give you a solid display for the entirety of the 90 minutes.
However, despite his modest price tag of just £1.5m, the veteran might not exactly fit into the Wolves’ setting.
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Nuno Espirito Santo and Fosun International do not exactly go after older players who do not have much resale value. Elia will be entering the last stages of his playing career going into the 2018/19 season and might not be the best choice for the English Championship winners given their high pedigree of selecting players.
