Wolverhampton Wanderers are now ready to make a January offer for a midfield “artist”, who is also being targeted by Premier League rivals Aston Villa.
Wolves still not off the mark in the Premier League
It has been a torrid start to the Premier League season for Wolves, who remained bottom of the table after a very disappointing 3-1 home defeat against newly-promoted Leeds United last weekend.
Vitor Pereira’s side are the only top flight club yet to pick up a single point this season, but there has been some respite in the EFL Cup, having reached the fourth round, after progressing past West Ham United and, most recently, Everton.
There were some promising signs on Wednesday night, with the Old Gold defeating the Toffees 2-0 at Molineux, courtesy of goals from Marshall Munetsi and Tolu Arokodare, and the manager remains confident his players have the ability to turn things around.
Pereira said: “The work I watch everyday in training is hard work and this is a group who work a lot, they compete and want to be at a better level. We’re just missing the results because the players have quality.”
If things do not improve, however, and their Premier League status is on the line, Wolves may have to inject some fresh quality into the squad during the January transfer window, and they are now looking to sign Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli.
That is according to a report from Italy (via Sport Witness), which states the Old Gold are now ready to make an offer for Locatelli as soon as January, although there will be competition from some of their Premier League rivals.
West Ham United and Aston Villa are also prepared to make bids of their own, and there are signs a deal could be possible, with the Serie A side considering sanctioning a departure, although it is unclear what sort of fee they would be looking for.
"Artist" Locatelli could play major role in Wolves securing survival
Even though we are just five games into the new Premier League season, it is already starting to look like Wolves’ main goal this season will be to simply avoid the drop, and the £103k-a-week Juventus maestro could take Pereira’s midfield to the next level.
An established Italy international, with 32 caps to his name, the 27-year-old has plenty of top-level experience, having made 22 Champions League appearances, and he is very highly rated by scout Ben Mattinson.
Not only is the midfielder comfortable in possession, but he is also solid defensively, as shown by his performance in some key statistics over the past year.
Statistic
Average per 90
Tackles
2.78 (84th percentile)
Blocks
1.96 (97th percentile)
Clearances
2.72 (92nd percentile)
Locatelli could be an excellent signing for Wolves, but it is questionable whether a player of his quality would be interested in moving to a relegation-threatened side.
