Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) have gone into a pole position to beat Arsenal and Chelsea to the shock signing of Thomas Lemar if reports in Spain are to be believed. The World Cup winner with France has fallen out of favour at the Spanish capital club. He is yet to score or assist in 21 appearances this season for Diego Simeone’s side.
Lemar joined Atletico from Monaco for a fee of £51m in just 2018 only and has failed to justify his huge price-tag. The La Liga giants have already lost hopes on the 24-year-old and are already pushing to sell the forward and recoup the transfer fee they paid just 18 months ago.
According to reports in Spain, despite interest from the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, Wolves are leading the race to sign the versatile attacking midfielder. It is believed that Wolves are in such a good position thanks to their excellent relationship with the player’s agent Jorge Mendes.
Mendes, known as the ‘godfather’ at Wolves, and has brought several former Atletico players to Molineux already, including Raúl Jimenez, Jonny Otto and Diogo Jota.
The agent has a strong relationship with the Spanish giants as well and was a vital part of bringing Portuguese wonder-kid Joao Felix to Madrid from Benfica this summer.
It is claimed Mendes can be ‘essential’ cog to getting Lemar to Wolves this month which would mean bad news for the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea who are long admirers of the Frenchman.
It is understood Metropolitano chiefs are open to loaning the 24-year-old until the end of the season with the option to make the move permanent. Any club will be required to pay £5m to take Lemar on loan and a further £50m to complete a permanent deal next summer.
Wolves have been a force in the Premier League since they worked their way back to the top tier of English football. They qualified for Europa League and have also made it to the knockout stages this season.
Signing someone of Lemar’s stature would be a great statement shown by the club who are looking to become a major force in English football. The club has already done really well this term and are currently in sixth place in the points table.
With the addition of some more stars including Lemar, they might be able to secure qualification for the Champions League soon. That has been their target for quite some time now and if they fail to do so this year, it can surely be a possibility once they get talents like Lemar.
Wolves are one of the better teams at present in the Premier League. Nuno Espirito Santo has made a name for himself as one of the best managers in the top flight of English football. He was being linked with a host of top clubs from England, though he did not take the job and decided to stay.
This could be a huge step in the right direction for the Wolves main-man. Let’s see whether things plan out for him or not. Only time will tell.