Despite late slip-ups, Wolves promotion to Premier League seems all but guaranteed following their sheer dominance during the first-half of the 2017-18 Championship campaign. The investment has paid off, and the Wanderers have been one step ahead of their league counterparts under Nuno Espirito Santo, the ex-Porto boss, who has endorsed an exciting brand of football with exciting transfer deals. Super agent Jorge Mendes holds a massive influence since their recent takeover, and the gaffer, as well as, some of their key stars are his clients whom he has brought in to the club.
Premier League, however, is a different game and Wolves need to strike a few more high-profile deals like Ruben Neves, the young Portuguese midfielder, who made a stunning switch to second-tier of English football despite holding a high reputation back in Porto. Mendes is also working with Premier League side Swansea City since bringing in Renato Sanches, on loan from Bayern Munich and is currently working on identifying talents alongside newly appointed gaffer Carlos Carvalhal. It is to be seen how he handles both the assignments if the Swans manage to avoid a relegation scare and Wolves do not mess it up in the conclusive game weeks of Championship football.
However, a few signings are needed for the West Midlands outfit if they are willing to maintain a Premier League status for seasons to come and here are few names who should be approached by the Wolves, given their cordial relationship with Jorge Mendes.
Renato Sanches
Country: Portugal
Age: 20
Current Club: Swansea City ( On Loan from Bayern Munich)
Sanches was projected as Portugal’s next-gen superstar and his display in UEFA Euro 2016 earned massive applauds from every corner. But a big money transfer to Bayern Munich from Benfica did not pay off for the youngster as lack of opportunities resulted in a dip in confidence as well as form. He was loaned to Swansea City last summer but failed to adjust to Premier League football. The unsettled youngster has been sent to Portugal’s youth ranks once again despite impressing for the senior side and needs to find a proper solution to his current situation. Sanches is managed by Mendes who might find a way out for the Portuguese starlet by offering him a permanent transfer to Wolves and resurrect his career in the middle of the park alongside his countryman Ruben Neves.
Tiquinho Soares
Country: Brazil
Age: 27
Current Club: F.C. Porto
Although Wolves have two striking sensations on loan in form of Leo Bonatini and Benik Afobe, they need to invest on a prolific ‘number 9’ irrespective of whether they make the former deals permanent in summer. Tiquinho, another Jorge Mendes agent, has been hitting the target quite frequently for the current Primeira Liga leaders but has not been in the news much due to some stunning scoring streak Vincent Aboubakar and Moussa Marega are having. The Brazilian has scored 23 times in 43 games for Porto since completing a winter move from Vitória Guimarães last year and his presence might hand the current Championship leaders much more versatility and experience in their attack.
Anwar El Ghazi
Age: 22
Current Club: LOSC Lille
Country: Netherlands
The young Dutch sensation holds a bright future ahead and has already been capped twice for his senior national team. Although Wolves have a player of Diogo Jota’s ability in their ranks, El Ghazi will add more depth and strength to the side who is known for his directness, cut insides, indirect free-kick attributes along with great shooting ability. He is versatile, has played in multiple attacking roles so far this season for the French outfit and his style of football is perfectly suited in Premier League domain. He is also a client of Gestifute and should be approached by Wolves to add more firepower to their quality attacking third.
