Sudden twist as €16m Wolves transfer nears completion after LaLiga hijack
Rafa Mir is set to travel to Spain to seal his permanent exit from Wolves – although there has been a twist over his exact destination.
Mir has been a Wolves player since January 2018, when they were still in the Championship. The ex-Valencia forward made two appearances in the second-tier in the season that culminated with promotion to the Premier League. While Wolves have been in the top-flight ever since, Mir has not.
The attacker has endured several loan spells away, including time in the Spanish second tier with Las Palmas and Huesca either side of a goalless stint with Nottingham Forest in the Championship. Mir helped Huesca to promotion to La Liga and went on to spend another season with them.
He enjoyed a breakout season in 2020-21, scoring 16 goals in 39 games between league and cup. It wasn’t enough to prevent an immediate relegation for Huesca, though.
In turn, their chances of signing him permanently have ended, but – after a productive Olympics with Spain – Mir’s future will not be back at Molineux. Instead, he will be returning to one of the bigger La Liga clubs.
It was recently claimed that Spanish champions Atletico Madrid were set to sign him. However, there has been a twist, as Sevilla appear to have hijacked the deal.
According to Marca, Sevilla have agreed a €16m deal with Wolves to take Mir. The striker will accept a five-year contract at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and is due in Andalusia imminently.
ABC agree with the details of the transfer in their own report, whereas another outlet, COPE, claim the fee Sevilla are paying is actually €17m.
Mir will provide competition alongside Youssef En-Nesyri and Luuk De Jong for Sevilla, who will be playing in the Champions League this season.
Champions Atletico, meanwhile, will have to look elsewhere after seeing their hopes of signing him suddenly fade.
Higher profile departures to come at Wolves?
While Mir has proven himself away from Wolves, his exit will not be too big a blow for Bruno Lage’s side, since they rarely used him.
However, throughout the summer there has been speculation that some of their more high-profile players could be departing.
Following the exit of coach Nuno Espirito Santo, several players were tipped to leave. So far, the only major casualty has been goalkeeper Rui Patricio, who joined Roma.
But speculation has resurfaced that a key outfield player could also leave before the deadline. In fact, he could follow Nuno to Tottenham…
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