Carlos Forbs was the final signing of the 2024 summer window for Wolves – and the club have now shared some interesting information on their newest recruit.
Forbs has come in on loan from Ajax, and Wolves hold an option to buy the player at the end of the season.
But it is thought Wolves will be required to pay the £11.4 million fee if Forbs makes a certain number of appearances – thought to be around 10.
Forbs will hope to hit the ground running at Wolves, and fans are hoping he can ease the blow of losing Pedro Neto.
Forbs may have been signed at the eleventh hour. But the club have now revealed that Forbs is a player they have actually had eyes on for quite some time.
Wolves say they eyed Carlos Forbs for almost five years before finally swooping
It is often the case with Wolves transfers that a player joins the club fairly out of the blue, and it then comes out that the club had been tracking said player for a long time beforehand.
Wolves like to do their due diligence on targets before committing to a move, and that has certainly been the case with Forbs.
Forbs may have only had one season in senior football in his career to date.
But Wolves’ interest goes further back than just last season when he played for Ajax. In fact, it is almost five years since the club first identified him.
The club say their first report on Forbs came when he was playing for Portugal U16s in February 2020. But at that time, ‘he was already highly thought of at City’. Wolves then continued to monitor him.
Wolves’ attention was raised again as Forbs produced fantastic numbers in the Manchester City academy in 2020/21, and the plan was to get ready to make an approach if an opportunity arose.
City did not make Forbs available for a move until the summer of 2023. Wolves say that, while they were still interested then, they simply did not have the funds to make a move.
Wolves claim City were asking for a fee they just couldn’t pay, as they battled against PSR regulations.
Forbs clearly well-liked at Wolves
These scouting reports are always quite interesting, especially when the club share when a player was first identified.
It is clear that Wolves have admired Forbs for a long time, so that is reassuring. It is not like Wolves have panicked and just signed any possibly available winger to replace Neto.
Even though he arrived late in the day, a lot of thought has clearly gone into the signing of Forbs.
Wolves fans will now hope he lives up to expectations. Football legend Marco van Basten made some slightly concerning comments this week to suggest that Forbs may not be a good signing for Wanderers.
But Forbs will hope to prove him wrong, and show just why Wolves have long admired him.