Wolves will have to fight off competition from AC Milan if they want to bring Elye Wahi to the Premier League with the striker a ‘dream’ signing for the Serie A giants.
At the risk of raining on Wolves’ parade, it’s a question which must be asked. Is Elye Wahi – linked earlier this week by influential Ligue 1 reporter Mohamed Toubache-Ter – already out of Julen Lopetegui’s reach?
The days of splashing out £30 million on a single player appear, for the moment at least, to be a thing of the past at Molineux; this summer all about bargain buys as Wolverhampton Wanderers look to avoid falling foul of potential Financial Fair Play restrictions.
Wolves’ Elye Wahi hopes may be over already
Now, Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin may have been engaging in a bit of ‘wishful thinking’ when he suggested that arguably Ligue 1’s breakout star for 2022/23 should cost somewhere in the region of £50 million in today’s market.
Montpellier are, however, expected to demand at least £30 million.
And if the men from Molineux cannot stump up the £25 million required by Bristol City for Alex Scott – as reported by The Telegraph – then the chances of Wolves having a bid accepted for Wahi look about as slim as one of Sasa Kalajdzic’s telescopic limbs.
“For Elye Wahi, there are approaches from three or four clubs,” Nicollin tells Midi Libre. “But no concrete offer on the desk.”
That could soon change, however, even if the France U21 international is already out of Wolves’ reach. Their only hope, at this stage, may be if Montpellier are willing to accept an initial loan-to-buy deal, thus delaying the payment for a further 12 months.
‘Be careful’
Nicollin has already admitted that Wahi would relish the opportunity to join Arsenal. According to Calciomercato, meanwhile, he is the ‘dream’ signing as far as AC Milan’s influential head of scouting Geoffrey Moncada is concerned.
Wahi netted 19 goals and set up six more for Montpellier in 2022/23. He even scored four in a single game against Lyon. Albeit still finding himself on the losing side as Alexandre Lacazette rolled back the years.
“In England, at a top three club, he would be in the rotation,” Francis De Taddeo, Wahi’s former youth coach, tells France Bleu, “I think he must be careful about the status he will have (at his next club). It’s part of the decision.
“There are also integration factors in relation to the language and the environment. Being in a quiet and cushy city is better than a city where there is too much light.
“He is still a player in training. He needs work and time. He’s still far from having reached his maximum level.”