Wolves secured the signing of Brazilian international Andre on deadline day, but the transfer may not have gone through if not for one crucial factor.
Wolves had an extremely busy deadline day last week. The club brought in three new faces as Sam Johnstone, Carlos Forbs and Andre all joined the Old Gold.
Gary O’Neil’s squad was in desperate need of reinforcements and Matt Hobbs no doubt delivered on the final day of the window.
Out of the three, many of the Molineux faithful are most excited to see Andre in action. The Brazilian international made his debut against Nottingham Forest in a short cameo off the bench and he quickly showcased his quality.
However, the transfer almost didn’t go through until Hobbs managed to hijack the deal at the last minute.
Andre’s desire to join Wolves allowed Matt Hobbs to hijack the transfer
Andre is no doubt highly rated in Brazil. The midfielder won numerous trophies in his home country as he continued to develop into a sensational player.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that multiple clubs wanted to sign Andre in the summer until Wolves beat them to his signature.
Now, Hobbs has confirmed that Andre did almost sign for another Premier League club, but his desire to join the Old Gold allowed Wolves to hijack the deal.
Speaking on the Wolves Express Podcast, he said: “It feels like a long time in the making. He has the same agent as Joao Gomes. He was a player that we talked about at the same time as Joao as the one we were looking at and the next one coming through. We hadn’t been in the financial position in other windows when we were interested.
“I met his agent in Portugal and there was so much interest in him and they had such good offers that I was gutted because it looked like he was going to play against us in the Premier League.
“A bit like the Pedro Lima situation, there was a little crack. [He said] they were probably going to agree with this Premier League club but he really wants to you [Wolves], is there any chance?
“Fair play to Jeff [Shi] and the board, they said yes and that we can do it.
“His agent is class, he was so great with Joao, real simple, not complicated and it was the same with this.
“It is one that I thought we were going to miss out on and now I’m really excited to have him come and join us.”
Read more: Who is Andre? Everything you need to know about the Brazilian international.
Andre could help return Wolves to glory
It is no secret that Wolves have fallen off in recent years. The Old Gold were once regularly competing for Europe but are now constantly looking over their shoulder.
However, a player such as Andre could help transform Wolves and get them climbing back up the table.
With a midfielder trio of Andre, Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes, as well as the likes of Tommy Doyle, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Boubacar Traore on the bench, O’Neil has some sensational options for this campaign.
Hopefully, after the international break, Wolves can start the month off with a victory against Newcastle.