Wolves are licking their wounds today after missing out on transfer target Marc Pubill.
After Vitor Pereira had all but confirmed Nelson Semedo won’t be re-signing with Wolves, fans had been clamouring for a new face to arrive.
Pubill then emerged as a top target for Wolves.
The player had also been linked with AC Milan, but they backed away and that seemingly catapulted Wolves into pole position.
Fabrizio Romano reported a Wolves agreement for Pubill was close.
But it’s Atletico who are signing the player – and word arrived last night of just how close Wolves came to landing the player.
Wolves had all but signed Marc Pubill
Wolves must now get to work quickly on signing an alternative.
The outcome of the Pubill situation is far from ideal, with Wolves’ pre-season already well underway, and the new season set to start in just under a month.
These are crucial days for new signings to get settled, and Pubill not signing means more time has been wasted.
There is real frustration regarding what happened with Pubill, and last night, journalist Liam Keen shed some light on how close the deal actually was.
He said on an additional E&S podcast: “Let’s not get it twisted, this deal was done!
“Wolves were signing this footballer. He was coming. The only thing they needed to do was get him in the country and sign the contract. It was all ready to go. Wolves were very confident of getting it over the line and not expecting any issues.
“And at the eleventh hour, as has happened in previous transfer windows – not regularly, but it has happened occasionally – that another club comes in and hijacks the deal. It’s a massive blow for Wolves.”
How much Atletico Madrid are paying for Marc Pubill after beating Wolves to transfer
So Wolves were extremely close to landing Pubill.
But clearly, a club can be close but still miss out – it’s all about having that player signing the contract, otherwise anything can happen.
It will be deeply frustrating for Pereira, who has expressed his concern about the summer so far.
According to Fabrizio Romano, a deal was agreed yesterday for Atletico to pay Almeria a package deal of £17 million.
He reported that Almeria have also agreed a 15% sell-on clause.