Wolverhampton Wanderers have been in pursuit of Thomas Lemar as his future at Atletico Madrid is uncertain, but the Midlands outfit have been dealt a blow as Manchester United lead the race for his signature.
According to ESPN, United have entered talks with Lemar’s representatives over a potential summer deal. The Red Devils wanted the 24-year-old before he joined Atleti, so they’ve been interested for some time.
A problem for Nuno Espirito Santo will be financial. Atleti paid €70m (£64.3m) which would greatly surpass Wolves’ club-record £30m spent on Raul Jimenez last summer.
Whether the Midlands outfit are willing to pay Lemar’s potential valuation and €120k-per-week/€6.24m-a-year salary remains to be seen. It won’t an issue for United, however, so Wolves could miss out on the midfielder.
Lemar could be available this summer after a disappointing season in Spain. He left AS Monaco for Atleti in 2018 but has only earnt 24 appearances this term across all competitions. The French international has only started 46% of their games, too, and featured just twice in La Liga since the turn of the year due to various muscle injuries.
As per WhoScored, Lemar has amassed 811 minutes of league football, created six chances, completed 82.7% of his 306 passes, won six aerial duels (40%), made 19 successful dribbles (67.8%), had seven shots with 28.5% accuracy, made five interceptions and 10 tackles.
ESPN say Lemar wants to leave Atleti as he doesn’t like the side’s playing style and has become disillusioned at the lack of game time. United appear to be leading the race for his signature, so Wolves may have to turn their attentions elsewhere.
With Daniel Podence, Pedro Neto, Diogo Jota and Adama Traore at Nuno’s disposal, the squad is still very strong.
