Wolves are said to be wary of another potential Pedro Goncalves situation, with one club interested in signing a player from Molineux.
Only Max Kilman has let the club so far this summer, but the expectation is that some more will follow the former captain out the exit door.
Potentially, Pedro Neto could be going as the next ‘big’ sale. Or Algeria international Rayan Ait-Nouri, who is also attracting attention from some top clubs.
But the feeling is that Wanderers will be making a few smaller sales.
Recently, winger Chiquinho has been linked with a move away from Wolves. He spent last season on loan at Farmalicao, having initially been at Stoke City.
It was a successful spell for the 24-year-old following his awful knee injury, and he is now back with the Wolves squad for pre-season.
It’ll be fascinating to see what happens with him because Sporting CP want to sign him – but Wolves don’t want to be too hasty.
Wolves to bide time over Chiquinho after past Pedro Goncalves sale to Sporting
Sporting are keen to sign Chiquinho and apparently, Wolves would be willing to sell the player for around £8.5 million.
This would net Wolves a small profit, after they signed him from Estoril for around £3 million.
But Wolves are seemingly not going to rush into anything here. Record are again reporting that Sporting are interested, but Gary O’Neil has put a pause on things as he assesses the player in pre-season.
Interestingly, Record suggest that Wolves may be looking to avoid a potential repeat of the Pedro Goncalves situation.
Goncalves was once one of Wolves’ most promising academy players, but never got a first-team chance despite some feeling at the time that he was ready to step up.
Goncalves completed a move to Sporting, the club that now want Chiquinho, and he has developed extremely well over the last few years and been key to a lot of success for them in recent times.
The former Molineux starlet has helped the club to win two league titles since he joined, and in the 2020/21 season, he finished as the top scorer in the Primeira Liga. He has constantly been linked with big-money moves away from Sporting.
It’s all on Gary O’Neil
With Chiquinho having a contract at Wolves until 2026, the club are in a relatively healthy position.
There could be a temptation to sell, but ultimately O’Neil holds the cards and he may see Chiquinho as someone who can be of use for Wolves in 2024/25.
He looked brilliant for Wanderers shortly after completing his £3 million move in January 2022, and finished the 2021/22 campaign as one of Wolves’ best players.
Fans were so excited to see him kick on in his first full season, but he was robbed of the chance to do so after suffering that horrendous knee injury in a behind-closed-doors match against Burnley.
If it is decided that he will be sold, then Wolves need to ensure they insert a sell-on clause or include a buy-back option. It’s early days in pre-season, but journalist Nathan Judah said last week that he had looked ‘absolute class’.
The Goncalves sale was possibly a mistake and there is certainly potential here for Chiquinho to become a similar case. Hopefully, Wolves will at least ensure they can benefit from Chiquinho leaving if he does go.