Wolves are close to completing the signing of Portugal international Matheus Nunes from Sporting Lisbon in an initial £38million transfer.
The 23-year-old midfielder has been Wolves' priority target all summer and boss Bruno Lage is finally set to get his man, with a switch to Molineux imminent, provided personal terms can be agreed.
The West Midlands side have agreed a deal that, with add-ons, could rise to £43million, with the Portuguese outfit keen to raise funds despite also selling his midfield partner, Joao Palhinha, to Fulham. Nunes is set to become Lage's third summer signing, following defender Nathan Collins and Goncalo Guedes, who arrived from Valencia last week.
The deal for Nunes will be Wolves' record transfer, topping Fabio Silva's £35m move back in 2020. The forward is currently on loan at Anderlecht and has impressed at the Belgian club so far, scoring five goals in six games, having netted just four in two seasons in the Black Country.
Liverpool and Manchester City have been tracking Nunes and the midfielder's preferred destination this summer was to find a Champions League club. However, Wolves have remained patient and with none of Europe's elite coming calling for Nunes, he is now set to move to Molineux to test himself in the Premier League. He has been Lage's No.1 target throughout, and the club have refused to move onto other possibilities while still in with a chance of signing him.
Nunes made his Portugal debut last year and has since gone on to appear a further seven times, scoring once for his national side. A versatile midfielder, he will join compatriots Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho, as well as Leander Dendoncker in vying for a place in the Wolves engine room.
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Wolves are looking to evolve this season, having switched to a back four and allowed club captain Conor Coady to depart, after he joined Everton on loan with an option to buy. Romain Saiss has also left the club.
But Wolves have endured a disappointing start to the season, losing to Leeds United on the opening day and drawing 0-0 draw with Fulham on Saturday
After the stalemate with the Cottagers, Lage said: "I think we had clear chances, obvious chances, to score goals. So, in the end, what we look for is the performance. Again, another good performance, with personality.
"And I can see by the way the fans responded at the end that they enjoyed the performance. Now it’s time to continue to work. We are working hard, we are working hard in everything."
