A few days ago, it was reported that Atletico Madrid had interest in signing Hugo Bueno from Wolves.
AS claimed (via Sport Witness) ahead of the weekend that the Spanish giants had set their sights on the talented 20-year-old.
Bueno’s stock has soared since he broke into the starting XI back in October.
Bueno made his debut in the 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest, and then got his first start days later against Crystal Palace.
He only played because Rayan Ait-Nouri was unavailable through illness.
Steve Davis could have played Jonny Castro Otto, but decided Bueno deserved an opportunity given how hard he’s worked at youth level.
Since then, Bueno has been heavily involved for Wolves. In total, he has now made 13 appearances for Wanderers. At the end of October, Bueno won Wolves’ Player of the Month award, and also signed a new contract.
Perhaps inevitably, his excellent performance levels have brought him some attention.
Apparently Atleti are keen, and believe there is a chance to get him due to the strong relationship between the clubs.
Of course, Wolves signed Matheus Cunha in January, and in recent years they landed Jonny Castro Otto.
But Wolves have simply got to tell Atletico they have no interest in doing business over Bueno.
Doing that could potentially leave the club with a lot of regrets.
Hugo Bueno must not be offloaded, amid transfer interest from Atletico Madrid
Wolves shouldn’t be entertaining Atletico over Bueno.
The youngster has come in and been an absolute breath of fresh air and looks like he has the potential to be special.
Things could obviously change come the summer. Ait-Nouri is also a seriously talented young player and it might be that he finishes the season as Lopetegui’s number one choice at left-back.
But if there isn’t much between them later this year, then Wolves shouldn’t be looking to offoad Bueno.
One of the most impressive things about him is that he’s a bit of an all-rounder already. He is effective in the final third, but he’s also a pretty good defender. The defensive side of his game is arguably better than that of Ait-Nouri.
Wolves may feel as though Jonny could be worth listening to offers for, given his struggles in 2022/23.
If Jonny went, then that would surely mean Bueno would be completely off limits.
Lopetegui clearly loves Bueno. He said early on that he felt Bueno has the capacity to really shine in the coming years. There’s surely no way he’d want him going anywhere.