Wolves are embroiled in a transfer tussle with former manager Bruno Lage, and it appears the Portuguese boss is winning the fight.
Vitor Pereira has expressed his concerns over the current state of the Wolves squad, with a pressing need for more players to arrive at Molineux.
Fer Lopez remains the club’s only addition this summer, although Wolves are close to signing Jhon Arias from Fluminense, with the winger undergoing his medical next week.
Arias is set to vacate the right-sided number 10 role at Wolves and is seen as a direct replacement for Matheus Cunha, despite only costing £19 million.
The 27-year-old is the latest South American export heading to Wolverhampton, and he isn’t the only one on their radar.
Bruno Lage has ‘seduced’ Wolves target Richard Rios
Tommy Doyle’s move to Birmingham City and Boubacar Traore potentially re-joining FC Metz has opened up the door for Wolves to sign a new central midfielder, supposedly to challenge Andre and Joao Gomes.
Several names have been linked with a switch to Wolverhampton, including Palmeiras superstar Richard Rios, who the Old Gold have been tracking since the January transfer window.
One report even suggested that Wolves had a £25 million bid for Rios knocked back this week, although truthfully, those claims appeared to be wide of the mark.
Ben Jacobs suggested that a move for the 22-year-old was unlikely to materialise due to the player’s asking price. It is claimed that Palmeiras want a fixed fee of £26 million for Rios, with multiple European clubs tracking him.
According to Brazilian outlet Ge Globo, Porto, Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Everton, and Zenit have all ‘formalised proposals’ but there is only one club catching his eye.
Benfica manager Bruno Lage has ‘seduced’ Rios with the possibility of playing Champions League football, which is something the other interested clubs can’t provide him.
🚨🦅 Benfica director set for mission in Brazil due to start later today as Richard Rios deal can accelerate this weekend.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 19, 2025
Benfica have been informed by Palmeiras that AS Roma still didn’t match €30m fee.
Rios can now open doors to Benfica move; direct meeting will take place. pic.twitter.com/wG3fSr0Q2i
Fabrizio Romano has even revealed that the Benfica director is ‘set for a mission in Brazil’ this weekend to accelerate a deal for the all-action midfielder after Roma didn’t match the £26m fee.
Wolves need to nail down a midfield target
There are a lot of fires to put out in the Wolves squad, with reinforcements needed in midfield, right wing-back, left wing-back and striker, at the very least.
Wolves were ambitious in their pursuit of Club World Cup star Rios, but ultimately, they were never going to win the race ahead of a Champions League club.
Pereira needs a deep-lying playmaker to offer strong competition for Gomes and Andre in the middle of the park.
The problem is, Wolves don’t want to splash the cash on someone who would be used as a backup option.
That is why paying £26 million for Rios – although a potential bargain – isn’t the wisest decision when other positions are more important.