‘Flying in for medical’ – Wolves to land £10m gem ‘in next 24 hours’ amid Nottingham Forest snub
Wolverhampton Wanderers are closing in on their fifth signing of the summer, with a medical now booked in for a new defender.
The Old Gold have been on the hunt for a right wing-back for several weeks after Nelson Semedo announced he would not be extending his contract. Wolves’ captain until his departure, Semedo was offered a new four-year deal but he decided to join Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce instead.
Wolves have been making efforts to sign a replacement but have been knocked back on several occasions. Marc Pubill looked likely to join from Almeria but he stalled and then moved to Atletico Madrid instead. Then it was Sevilla’s Juanlu Sanchez, a similar profile of player, who appeared to reject Wanderers in favour of Italian Serie A giants Napoli.
Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Ryerson was briefly mentioned as a target and Coventry City reportedly offered Wanderers the chance to sign Milan van Ewijk for £15 million, but it seems another player has won out with an announcement expected before the weekend.
Wolves closing in on £10m signing
After expressing an interest earlier in the summer, Wolves have gone back in for Hellas Verona’s Jackson Tchatchoua and are now expected to end their pursuit for a right-sided defender. The Telegraph’s John Percy reports Wolves will sign Tchatchoua ‘in the next 24 hours’ after it was arranged for the wing-back to fly in for a medical on Friday.
Vitor Pereira has given the deal the green light and Wolves will pay just over £10 million to clinch Tchatchoua’s services. As the Cameroon international started 36 of Hellas Verona’s 38 Serie A matches in a decent 14th-placed finish last campaign, that fee could represent great value.
According to transfer news guru Fabrizio Romano, Nottingham Forest made an official approach for Tchatchoua several weeks ago but decided not to proceed. That’s despite widespread speculation suggesting they had submitted a £10 million bid.
How will Tchatchoua fit in at Wolves?
Signed as a direct replacement for Semedo, Tchatchoua can expect to start regularly for Wolves this season. The formalities of the deal will come too late for him to feature against Manchester City in the Premier League opener at Molineux this weekend, but he’ll spend the next week getting to know his new teammates.
Tchatchoua could then perhaps make his debut away at AFC Bournemouth on August 23. If Pereira is still not convinced Tchatchoua is ready to start at that point, then the Carabao Cup second round tie with West Ham United on August 26 could be the perfect opportunity to give him his first proper run-out.
Despite being signed to fill the void left by Semedo, there are no guarantees Tchatchoua will be able to lock down the right wing-back all season long. Brazilian hot prospect Pedro Lima is still at the club despite loan interest from Wrexham, whereas versatile winger Rodrigo Gomes and veteran defender Matt Doherty are more than capable of playing there.
Tchatchoua should slot in just fine, though, with two seasons of Serie A action now under his belt. The Cameroonian should only get better, too, as he’s still just 23 years of age and is a way out from the usual prime years of a defender.
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