Wolves have replacement in place as first-team regular nears €12m exit

Jose Sa, Bruno, Rafinha Olympiacos TEAMtalk

Wolves appear resigned to their fate of losing Rui Patricio this summer and have consequently identified his replacement, according to reports.

Portugal keeper Patricio was a major coup for Wolves when they signed him after their promotion to the Premier League in 2018. He has only missed two league games in the three years since. However, it appears his time at Molineux could be coming to an end.

There has already been one significant change for Wolves this summer, with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo announcing his departure. Several key players could follow him out of the exit door as well.

For example, the club are said to be open to offers for Arsenal midfield target Ruben Neves. And his club-and-country colleague Patricio is also in demand elsewhere.

Patricio’s agent is Jorge Mendes, who also represents Jose Mourinho, who now wants to take the goalkeeper to his new club Roma.

It is understood that the 33-year-old is open to taking on that new challenge. What’s more, with only one year remaining on his contract, Wolves may have to sell.

Having acknowledged the likelihood of that exit, the Midlands club are now looking for his replacement. And according to Sky Italia, they could turn to yet another Portuguese Mendes client.

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Jose Sa is the man in question, having impressed in Greece with Olympiacos over the past three seasons. He may be familiar to some Premier League fans, as he came up against Arsenal in the 2020-21 Europa League.

At the age of 28, he has plenty of experience but is yet to test himself in one of Europe’s top five leagues. Now, the opportunity for him to move to England could arise.

Wolves are said to be already working on securing his potential signing, even though the Patricio sale is still yet to materialise. It is getting closer, though, with Wolves hoping to bank €12m.

They will then be able to reinvest in Sa, whose price is not clear. Sa is under contract with the Greek Super League champions until 2023.


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Portuguese connection at Wolves continues

Despite Nuno’s departure, it seems Wolves will still have a large Portuguese contingent next season.

As well as the chances of Sa replacing Patricio, they were recently linked with another player hailing from that country.

According to Correio De Manha, Sporting CP midfielder Joao Palhinha is a target for Wolves. However, they face competition from two other Premier League sides.

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