Wolves tried to sign Renato Sanches on transfer deadline day but to no avail.
One factor was his current injury problem, which would have limited his initial involvement at Molineux.
But the Athletic claim that Wolves are eyeing up a swoop for the Lille midfielder in January.
By then, his injury issues should be fully resolved, allowing him to make an instant impact.

If he is fully fit, that might make Wolves more inclined to agree to an option or even obligation to buy him come the summer.
We know where we are with Sanches now. The fans would love to have him.
He’s got huge quality and has got his career back on track after struggling at Bayern Munich.
We’re well past the point where he can be judged on his Swansea loan spell, and he was ‘terrific’ at Euro 2020, according to BBC pundit Jermaine Jenas.

It’s just a case of whether Wolves get through to the winter without any midfield injuries.
But hopefully much of the groundwork has been done over a deal already, and Wolves could get it done in January.
That would certainly offer a mid-season shot in the arm, and by then, we’ll have a clear idea about how Bruno Lage’s first Wolves season is shaping up.
- Carlos Forbs makes upsetting admission about his loan season at Wolves
- Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri are not the only past mavericks Wolves are missing
- Wolves and Liverpool interested in Portuguese defender who could leave for cut-price fee
- Tim Sherwood claims there’s one Premier League team worse than Wolves this season
- Wolves’ biggest regret of the summer stuck warming Premier League club’s bench