Wolves to ‘bid’ for journeyman-turned goal machine Lage knows well
Reports in Portugal claim Wolves could be set to swoop for Porto midfielder Sergio Oliveira before the transfer window closes.
The 29-year-old began his career with Porto but failed to make an appearance. He spent time on loan with various clubs and one season playing for Porto B before joining Pacos Ferreira in 2013. The talented scheme saw plenty of action with Os Castores, making 69 appearances across two seasons.
And that prompted Porto to buy him back in 2015. However, he was loaned to Ligue 1 club Nantes after failing to make much of an impact.
The Portugal international also played 15 times for Greek club PAOK before finally making the grade at Porto. He made 14 starts among 20 Primeira Liga outings in 2019-2020 and 32 appearances last term.
Oliveira had been just an occasional goal scorer up until 2020-21 but found the net 20 times in all competitions last season. Wolves chief Bruno Lage knows all about his compatriot, having witnessed his prowess at close quarters.
Last season, when in charge of Benfica, he watched Oliveira hammer home a superb volley as Porto won 3-2. And the 45-year-old has not forgotten, with Portuguese publication JN suggesting Wolves are poised to make an offer.
The Black Country outfit will reportedly need to part with around £17m to get the deal done. Unsurprisingly, Jorge Mendes is the player’s agent an that might help smooth his passage to Molineux.
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Oliveira was the original ’journeyman’ player until the past couple of seasons. First capped in 2018, he has now played 13 times for Portugal and was in Fernando Santos’ Euro 2020 squad.
He had been on the periphery of the Dragoes squad and a second move away looked on the cards. But something clicked as he hit his late 20s and Tottenham were credited with an interest earlier this summer.
Fiorentina tried to sign him back in June but the finances involved made it impossible for the Italians.
At the time, La Viola owner Rocco Commisso said: “Jorge Mendes, his agent, presented us a cost of €20 million (£17 million) for the transfer in addition to other costs relating to commissions, which were never less than £20 million.
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“But the salary was almost double for a 29-year-old player (£75,000-a-week). In other words, Sergio Oliveira’s overall cost was €44.5 million (£38 million).”
Wolves will hope their relationship with Mendes can drive the cost of the deal down.
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