Wolverhampton Wanderers are currently lining up a transfer move to secure the services of Espanyol attacker Wu Lei.
According to Marca, as cited by Sport Witness, the player is currently in talks with the Old Gold over a move to Molineux from his current La Liga club.
As stated by the Spanish publication, Nuno Espirito Santo’s outfit is ‘taking the initiative’ ahead of the competition who may also be interested in the China international to try and get the deal done.
The 28-year-old winger’s contract with Espanyol is currently set to expire at the end of December this year (per Transfermarkt) and he is currently valued at £7.2m (Transfermarkt).
It could be possible that Wolves are negotiating a deal to sign the player in the summer or when his contract expires at the end of the year, however, the report does not make it clear which of these it is.
However, the report from Marca is adamant that talks between Wolves and the player are ‘underway’.
TIF Thoughts…
If there is truth in the move for Wu Lei, it may not seem like such an impressive coup should the Old Gold be able to secure the player’s services.
This season, the Chinese international has only been Espanyol’s 17th-best performer in La Liga with a weak 6.35/10 average rating (per WhoScored).
Should the winger have replicated the same rating for Wolves in the Premier League this season, then he would still be the 17th-best performer, but in the Old Gold’s small squad that is equivalent to being the fifth-worst player (per WhoScored).
Would Wu Lei be a good signing for Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves side?No, not good enough
Yes, he's a good player
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In comparison to one of Wolves’ first-team players, Diogo Jota, Wu Lei appears to be lacking in several key attacking statistics, too.
During this season in La Liga, the attacker has taken 1.3 shots, made 0.5 key passes and performed 0.5 dribbles per game on average (per WhoScored).
Jota has performed better in all of these areas by taking 1.7 shots, making 1.0 key passes and performing 1.0 dribbles per league match on average (per WhoScored), perhaps suggesting that the Chinese international may be lacking a desired level of ability.