News

Wolves now face big potential hurdle to sign Nicolas Pepe after what happened on Sunday

Wolves are seeking to bolster their squad this summer and Vitor Pereira will surely be targeting new forward players.

Matheus Cunha is expected to leave the club to join Manchester United, with a deal supposedly close to being finalised.

But the likes of Pablo Sarabia, Hwang Hee-chan, Goncalo Guedes and Carlos Forbs have all been linked with exits from the club.

So there could be at least two incomings for those positions.

One player Wolves were recently linked with was Nicolas Pepe, the former Arsenal winger who now plays his football in Spain with Villarreal.

But something happened at the weekend which may now complicate any Wolves transfer pursuit.

Wolves target Nicolas Pepe stands to play Champions League football next season

FC Barcelona V Villarreal CF - La Liga
Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

It was very interesting to see Pepe being linked with Wolves.

The Ivory Coast international is obviously remembered as the winger who really underwhelmed at Arsenal following a huge £72 million transfer from Lille.

But Pepe has managed to get his career back on track lately at Villarreal, after a spell at Turkish club Trabzonspor.

Wolves are apparently interested in Pepe.

But there’s a chance now that they might struggle to convince him to come.

That’s because at the weekend, Villarreal secured Champions League football by beating Barcelona 3-2 to finish fifth in La Liga.

Wolves up against it, but Pepe deal not impossible

It may now be quite tricky for Wolves to sign Pepe, as playing in the Champions League will surely appeal to him.

It’s the competition players aspire to reach, and Pepe – who was once branded ‘top-class’ by Unai Emery (Sky Sports) – will probably see it as a stage to prove some people wrong, or make them feel differently about him after his struggles at Arsenal.

But Wolves may still have an outside chance.

Vitor Pereira ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC v Leicester City FC - Premier League
Photo by Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Wolves via Getty Images

There’s also the notion of Pepe perhaps having unfinished business in the top-flight of English football.

Also, his international teammate Emmanuel Agbadou now plays at Molineux, and Pepe might fancy linking up with him.

Wolves said Agbadou served as a consultant to Marshall Munetsi when the midfielder was considering joining Wolves, which he, of course, ended up doing.