Wolves were linked with talented midfielder Ilaix Moriba in the summer transfer window.
Moriba was on Barcelona’s books and with the Camp Nou club trying to balance their books, he was reportedly offered to Wolves.
They could apparently have signed him for just £12.8 million, but didn’t and he went off to RB Leipzig instead.
He has now been named among Goal’s hottest prospects born on or after 1 January 2003, coming 17th in the list.
They wrote: “Dubbed ‘the new Paul Pogba’ as he came through the ranks at Barcelona, Ilaix Moriba has long been touted as a potential superstar of the European game.
“As such, the 19-year-old midfielder did not look out of place when he was promoted to the Barca first team during the second half of the 2020-21 season, and it was with a heavy heart that he was sold to RB Leipzig for €16m (£13.3 million) in August following a contract dispute at Camp Nou.
“Ilaix found opportunities harder to come by in the Bundesliga, however, and – after some impressive Africa Cup of Nations displays for Guinea – he moved back to Spain after joining Valencia on loan in January.”
Moriba’s struggles to get into the Leipzig team may have made Wolves’ decision not to take him on look like a good one.
But his AFCON displays and his place on this list underline that Wolves could have passed up on the chance to sign a hugely promising young midfielder.
The engine room of Bruno Lage’s team has been a talking point all season – in terms of depth – and Ruben Neves’ injury, which will keep him out until May, have shone further light on that.
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