Wolves have sold captain Max Kilman – and there is one player the club were linked with in 2023 who could be worth looking at again.
Gary O’Neil and Matt Hobbs have been busy so far this summer, with three new faces following Tommy Doyle to Molineux.
Rodrigo Gomes, Jorgen Strand Larsen and Pedro Lima have all come in, while Kilman has left to join West Ham United in a £40 million deal.
It was claimed yesterday that Boubacar Traore has emerged as a target for French club RC Lens, and that they are currently working out if a move would be feasible.
It’ll be interesting to see if Wolves seek to do business with Lens, who actually have a player who ought to be of interest.
Wolves should reignite Kevin Danso interest after selling Max Kilman, Lens have financial issues
It was claimed by L’Equipe last summer that Wolves were one of a few clubs interested in signing Kevin Danso from Lens. Brentford and Napoli were also in the hunt.
In the end, Danso remained at Lens, because they had sealed qualification for the Champions League.
Last term wasn’t quite as good for Lens as they came seventh.
Potentially then, Danso may be seeking to move on after spending three years at the club.
And interestingly for Wolves, Lens are currently in a bit of a sticky place with their finances. Last month, it was reported Lens ‘will be obliged to sell an array of their players this summer due to Financial Fair Play commitments’ (via GFFN).
Danso is apparently one player they will seek to move on to try and alleviate some financial pressure.
Wolves apparently scouted Danso in a game against Paris Saint-Germain in May 2023, and with Kilman having been sold, this could be a chance to reignite their previous interest.
Danso has a release clause
GFFN add that Danso actually has a release clause of £29.6 million. But with Lens under financial pressure, this could mean they will have to accept less.
Danso has been an impressive signing for Lens. He has clocked up 114 appearances for the club in his three seasons there, suggesting him as being durable and consistent – just like Kilman was for Wolves.
Over the last 365 days he has had a pass completion rate of 87.8%, which is bound to appeal to O’Neil, who wants Wolves playing out from the back with confidence.
Danso has just been a part of the very impressive Austria team that got to the Round of 16 at Euro 2024 under Ralf Rangnick. He featured in three of their four games, playing 90 minutes twice.
After Lens got into the Champions League following their amazing 2022/23 campaign, the Guardian named Danso as their Player of the Season, ahead of Kylian Mbappe who had scored 29 goals. In their write-up for him, they described him as ‘astute, proactive, physical and mobile’.
Wolves would potentially need to get a move on, because the star is reportedly wanted by Italian champions Inter. But if any moves for the likes of David Carmo or Nico Elvedi fail, then perhaps Danso could be a decent alternative.