Wolverhampton Wanderers are allegedly ‘active’ in attempting to pursue the Galatasaray defender Christian Luyindama, according to reports.
The Turkish site Fanatik (via Birmingham Live) states that the DR Congo international is being tracked by a long list of clubs, including Aston Villa, Bournemouth, and most worryingly, Everton.
Despite the 26-year-old only being at the club for a short time after joining from Standard Liege, and being out for a long period of time due to a nasty torn cruciate ligament injury, clubs are still queuing up to go and sign him.
The report claims that the Galatasaray coach, Fatih Terim, and the player are said to be discussing a new deal, but that could seriously be scuppered by the Premier League’s alleged interest.
Everton are allegedly the front-runners – and that could be the biggest problem that Wolves have in being able to sign the player, who is rated at £6.3m by Transfermakrt. Though realistically he would cost a lot more, as previous reports have suggested Premier League clubs are preparing £14m offers.
With Wolves’ reputation still yet to fully rise across Europe, you can see why Everton might be seen as an attractive prospect; Farhad Moshiri has had no problems with whipping out the chequebook, and Carlo Ancelotti is one of the most respected managers in world football.
Would you sign Christian Luyindama for £14m?
No, we can do better
Yes, he looks good for that
Not sure; never heard of him
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that Wolves won’t be an attractive prospect, it just means that if the club are genuinely interested and the reports are true, Everton could prove to be the biggest challenge in bringing the man to the club.
The defender is now reportedly back in training, and there are even suggestions that, should the Super Lig continue, he could return before the end of the season.
With Wolves undoubtedly needing more reinforcements in the centre half position before next season starts, Luyindama’s stats – which are pretty limited due to his injury this season – suggest he could be a good fit.
From the Galatasary squad, no one has won more aerials per game, with him having 4.4 on average – 1.9 higher than his next closest rival in Marcao. Elsewhere, he averages 1.7 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 3.8 clearances per game, according to WhoScored.
