Wolverhampton Wanderers are closing in on a deal for Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario, according to reliable journalist John Ferreira.
The French reporter, who is known as a journalist for BeIN Sports, claims on his personal Twitter account that the 25-year-old Portuguese flyer is edging towards a move to the Molineux which could be completed imminently, joining fellow Portuguese player Rui Patricio at the newly-promoted club.
Point #mercato ?? @joaome17 pourrait rejoindre #Rui Patricio dans les prochaines heures du côté des @Wolves ou plutôt du FC Mendes…
Il serait le 7e Portugais + Nuno Espírito Santo (coach) @beinsports_FR
— John Ferreira (@JferreiraBeIN) July 13, 2018
The 5’9″ (source: Transfermarkt) attacker was selected to represent Portugal at this summer’s World Cup, where they crashed out at the last-16 stage to Uruguay. Mario was loaned out to West Ham for the second half of last season, netting two goals in the process.
OPINION
Wolves appear to like their Portuguese players after already acquring Portugal number one goalkeeper Rui Patricio from Sporting CP. It will remain to be seen what sort of impact Mario will have on Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, especially as he only mustered two goals during his time at the Hammers. He will have to improve considerably from that sort of form, and it is difficult to see why Wolves began negotiations for his transfer in the first place. It is true that the club need more attacking options, but his potential arrival is not going to offer them anything on that front. He may prove people wrong and out perform his season at West Ham, but that does not seem likely to happen. Mario may be an experienced international with 40 caps to his name, but that does not mean he will thrive in the Premier League.