When first reported in Portugal yesterday, it sounded like Helder Costa’s possible move to a Premier League club would mean his loan spell at Wolves would be cut short.
But as the story developed, the situation turned out to be totally different. As published in today’s morning papers, Wolves will actually activate their buying clause to have the striker permanently.
Both Record and O Jogo are saying so, and the English club will pay Benfica €15m. The clause could be activated at the end of the season, but there’s a pretty good reason why they’re doing it now.
As reported yesterday, clubs such as Everton, Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace, Hull City, Southampton and West Ham are all said to be following him. So Wolves are buying to protect their ownership of the player, and perhaps even sell-on at a higher price.
Even though O Jogo mentions a “short term” sale, they don’t seem very sure if Wolves may sell him now or in the summer market.
Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira is reportedly flying to London today, where he’s expected to close the deal.
After selling Gonçalo Guedes to PSG and Helder Costa to Wolverhampton, the Portuguese club will get the €45m they were expecting from a Victor Lindelof to Manchester United move. As the deal with José Mourinho’s side didn’t happened, they found another way to make that money.
It shouldn’t be rule out that the claims of Premier League interest were fed to the Portuguese media to panic Wolves into using their clause.
