Wolverhampton Wanderers have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Gabriel Magalhaes, with Chelsea closing in on his signature. According to Manu Lonjon of Eurosport, the Blues’ deal to sign Gabriel is ‘almost completed’, meaning Wolves and Everton look set to miss out.
It’s surprising Nuno Espirito Santo wants to strengthen at centre-back given how many players he has in the squad that can successfully operate in the role – the Wolves manager has Willy Boly, Conor Coady, Max Kilman, Romain Saiss and Leander Dendoncker at his disposal.
Dion Sanderson has impressed in his brief stint on loan at Cardiff City and could be an option for Wolves next season. Ryan Bennett may return to Molineux after an unsuccessful loan spell at Leicester City too. Then there’s Roderick Miranda who will soon return from his loan spell at FC Famalicao.
Nuno has been monitoring the progress of Manchester City defender Tosin Adarabioyo, Galatasaray’s Christian Luyindama and Sheffield United’s John Egan. Gabriel was a player Wolves were linked with, but Everton looked more likely to procure his signature than any other club.
Chelsea may have snatched the 22-year-old under their nose, however, which means Wolves will have to turn their attentions elsewhere. If all else fails, Saiss could be converted into a permanent centre-back given how much he’s impressed this season. Sanderson could also be promoted to the first-team as a backup option.
There are also five centre-backs that Jorge Mendes represents who could become options too, in Ruben Dias (Benfica), Gabriel Paulista (Valencia), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Ruben Vezo (Levante), Ezequiel Garay (Valencia). It remains to be seen who Wolves do end up making a move for, if any.
