Wolverhampton Wanderers have secured an option to sign on-loan striker Raul Jimenez next summer for around £30million, according to the Express & Star.
The newspaper claims that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side can bring in the Benfica loanee permanently come the end of the season thanks to a clause in his contract, with the player having impressed with four goals so far this campaign.
However the player himself has pumped the brakes on talks of a long-term stay in the West Midlands: “It’s too early,” he said about talk of a permanent switch.
“I have to do the things I’m doing, help the team to get good results. At the end of the season we’ll see what happens,” he finished.
Good move for Wolves?
Bringing Jimenez in on a permanent deal is in and of itself a positive move for Wolves, but for the fee quoted it becomes less of a lucrative signing. £30million is a lot of money for a player who has no real history of being a prolific goalscorer. He’s a quality operator and a fantastic player to have in your squad, but he’s not the 20-goal-a-season striker you’d expect for that sort of money. He’s similar to Olivier Giroud, in a way, in that he does terrific work for the team and brings others into play but isn’t necessarily a lethal goalscorer in his own right. £20million seems closer to his true value, so perhaps Wolves should consider foregoing the clause in the contract and simply negotiating with Benfica once Jimenez’s loan deal ends.
This is Futbol rating: 6/10
Likely to happen?
The Mirror reported recently that Nuno is expected to try and sign Jimenez permanently either in January or the summer, but whether he’d be prepared to meet the £30million clause is unknown. You’d think the deal will get done, but £30million just seems a bit steep.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10