Sven Botman was the central defender Wolves really wanted on transfer deadline day.
As per the Athletic, Wolves bid £25 million for the Lille centre half to bolster their backline.
But they claim that Lille wanted £35 million, and Wolves refused to pay that price.
The report also says that Botman had all but agreed to join Wolves – that’s how far down the line the deal had got on the player’s end.
£35 million would have equalled Wolves’ club record fee; the one they paid to sign Fabio Silva last summer.
Wolves’ thrifty summer and refusal to go big for the defender they really wanted will subject that Silva fee to further scrutiny.
Wolves were willing to pay £35 million for an untried striker, who doesn’t get into the first eleven as it stands.
But a year later, that money isn’t there for the central defender the club has been crying out for for a number of years.
Perhaps that’s an overly simplistic and critical way to look at a decision to walk away when there was such a huge gap in valuations on deadline day.
It is promising that Botman had basically agreed on his end to come, and perhaps offers hope that a deal could be done further down the line at a more agreeable price.
But ultimately, Wolves still have largely the same central defensive options and time will tell how much that costs Bruno Lage this season.
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