Everton and West Ham have joined Wolves in the battle to sign winger Pepe from Gremio, a report from Calciomercato has claimed.
Reports from Brazil earlier this week had revealed that Wolves have made an opening offer to Gremio for Pepe, with the Midlands club apparently willing to spend €15million on the 23-year-old.
Gremio are said to be reluctant to let the player go, having just lost another winger to Benfica in the shape of Everton Cebolinha, although it seems the pressure is starting to grow on the Brazilian outfit.
According to the latest reports, the player’s agent have travelled to England to receive a proposal from Wolves, while Everton and West Ham are both said to have made contact during his time in the country.
It is thought that Gremio are demanding €20m-€25m for the winger, and that they would not want to let him go immediately, with a deal that sees Pepe loaned back to his current club appearing to be suggested.
With that in mind, you do have to wonder whether this is a deal worth pursuing for Wolves.
A lack of numbers in their squad means they could probably do with bringing in players sooner rather than later, and the apparent nature of this deal does not exactly help the club here.
Not only does it mean they would not be able to call upon Pepe for the first half of the season, it also means that they would be spending more than they want to on the 23-year-old.
That could then impact their ability to bring in another player as cover until he makes his move to England, with that interest from elsewhere in the Premier League further increasing the chances of a bidding war that could drag the cost up even more.
