Wolves fans that liked the idea of signing Monaco youngster Benoit Badiashile can forget it, as the Frenchman has signed a new deal at his home club.
The 18-year-old is already a regular player for the club, and with Wolves being linked to a £35m bid in the summer, there were whispers that they would have another attempt during this window.
Nevertheless, the centre half has decided that Monaco is the best place for his immediate development, signing a new deal which will see him contracted until the summer of 2024, which was confirmed by the club’s official website yesterday.
Birmingham Live reported that Wanderers were seriously contemplating signing the defender on loan for the second half of the season, before signing him permanently in the summer market.
With the club currently short on centre backs – with versatile midfielders Leander Dendoncker and Romain Saiss occupying two of the centre back positions in recent weeks – this could have been a great deal for the club going into the future.
Despite this, it is important to remember that this is an 18-year-old who has already played 14 senior games this term – a really high return for someone who is so young.
Understandably, you can see why Monaco have done all their best to hang onto the defender, as not only will he be able to contribute massively to performances in the coming years, but he could also be worth a lot more than in a few seasons, depending on how things go.
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The Birmingham Live report also suggested that Manchester United were interested in him as well as Valencia, which means that they would have also had some stiff competition to get him.
Based on the fact he has been able to break into Monaco’s first team, he would probably be there or thereabouts for Wolves, which could have come in extremely handy as they deal with demands of both the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup.
His stats also look decent for a player of his age. He averages 1.7 interceptions per game – the highest in the whole squad – 2.8 clearances per game (WhoScored), as well as an impressive 5.3 duels won per match (SofaScore).
