Wolves have a potential new crowd favourite on their hands in Jean-Ricner Bellegarde – and it has now been claimed the club actually wanted to sign back in January.
The Frenchman made his debut against Liverpool at Molineux on Saturday.
Wolves ended up losing 3-1, after going ahead through Hwang Hee-chan.
Despite the defeat, a number of Wolves stars played well, including debutant Bellegarde.
The 25-year-old played with real confidence, and drove forwards every chance he could.
He linked up well with another player who really stood out Pedro Neto, and fans are excited to see more of him.
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Bellegarde was Wolves’ final signing of the summer, coming in for just under £13 million. But he actually could have joined the club sooner had it not been for an untimely injury he suffered…
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was a January target for Wolves, but injured scuppered deal
The Athletic have reported this morning that Wanderers did actually look into signing Bellegarde in the January window.
He had been catching the eye for Strasbourg, and Wolves showed interest.
But Bellegarde actually suffered an ankle injury in a Ligue 1 game against Lyon on January 14.
Wolves had apparently even made an initial offer for Bellegarde.
But negotiations were then aborted because of the player’s setback.
Bellegarde would then spend the next two months on the sidelines, missing eight games in Ligue 1.
Bellegarde arrived in the end – and he looks a player
This is an interesting claim about Wolves’ newest signing.
Ultimately, it didn’t really matter too much that Wolves didn’t sign Bellegarde in January.
Because the club signed Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes, and ultimately staved off relegation.
But thankfully Wolves retained interest in Bellegarde, and swooped for him on transfer deadline day.
His debut against Liverpool was very promising indeed.
He looks to be a player who is full of running and another great carrier of the ball.