The name ‘Marc Pubill’ was one that caused many Wolves fans a lot of anguish in the summer transfer window.
The full-back had been sounded out as a target by Wolves officials, who knew they were losing captain Nelson Semedo.
While Semedo hadn’t actually given an answer, his silence rather spoke volumes and Wolves simply had to prepare for his exit.
And the club had intended to bring in Pubill, who had impressed for Almeria.
Wolves made great progress in their pursuit of the player, but at the eleventh hour Atletico Madrid hijacked the Pubill deal. Fans were left incensed at Wolves’ inability to get the deal done, and also Pubill himself.
Journalist Liam Keen later claimed that Wolves had all but signed Pubill, and that it was just a case of getting the player in the country to sign the contract.
He chose Atletico Madrid instead – but it has not been the start he would have been hoping for.
Marc Pubill has barely played for Atletico Madrid since rejecting Wolves
Wolves also looked at signing Juanlu Sanchez from Sevilla, but never got the green light from the player despite reaching an agreement with the Italian giants for a transfer.
In the end, Wolves signed Jackson Tchatchoua from Hellas Verona, and the Cameroon international has made an average start at Molineux.
Who knows if Pubill would have been better or worse, but currently there are no suggestions about him either way, because he has barely played for Atletico Madrid since his move.
The ‘dynamic’ Pubill (Into the Calderon) has made just three appearances for the Spanish giants up to now.
And those three appearances have all been as a substitute, meaning he’s spent a total of just 37 minutes of time on the pitch so far.
Last night, as Atletico crashed to a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League, Pubill remained on the bench. He has not seen a single minute in any of Atleti’s last five games across all competitions.
Pubill already linked with early exit
So a far from ideal start at Atletico Madrid for Pubill – and the defender has even been linked with an early exit amid his lack of minutes.
Gazzetta dello Sport reported a couple of weeks ago that Napoli – who were in the mix to sign with Juanlu Sanchez along with Wolves – have interest in Pubill.
Juanlu is their main choice, but they could look at Pubill as a Plan B.
It will be interesting to see what happens with him if he continues not to play at Atleti.
Whether he has regrets about turning down Wolves though is another thing. Of course, Wanderers are currently bottom of the Premier League table and still haven’t won a game in the competition this season.