Valencia are preparing an offer for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Rafa Mir this summer in a deal that could see a player head the other way to Molineux.
That’s according to Sport Aragon, who cover the player’s future today and share what they have learned about the potential summer move.
They explain that at the end of this season, the striker’s two-year loan at Huesca, where he has been shining this season, is set to come to an end, and Wolves are already looking at his next destination.
They want to take advantage of his good form to make a tidy profit and have made it clear they will not accept anything under €15m for his signature.
That, according to Sport Aragon, has ruled Huesca out of the running, with the board of directors at the Spanish club ruling out any possibility of being able to take the player permanently.
While they have an option to make his loan a permanent one, this is only a first option if they match any other bid. For example, if a club offers €15m then they have to match that price first and foremost.
They don’t have the money to do that, or for any significant price really, so his future is likely to rest elsewhere.
There are several interested parties, but Valencia ‘is the one that is best placed’ as, apart from the striker liking the idea of returning to his former club, there is a ‘love triangle’ that can make it happen.
That’s in reference to the relationship between Wolves owners Fosun, super-agent Jorge Mendes and Valencia owner Peter Lim.
In any deal, Mendes, who also represents the player via Gestifute, could ‘fulfil a perfect function of nexus’ between the clubs, so the operation goes ahead.
However, given the ‘limited budget’ available at Valencia, they will need to ensure the sale of another player first, and the key could be Kang-in Lee.
They want to ‘take advantage’ of the Korean player to use him as a barter to get Mir, but the deal wouldn’t be a straight swap. Instead, it would be two separate sales for the same price, say €15m.
Why that’s the case isn’t mentioned, but it works in Huesca’s favour as they will get 10% of any deal as opposed to nothing if Wolves were to do a straight swap deal.
At the moment, the two separate sales option is the ‘most feasible and advanced’ one, but there is always a chance another club could offer more money than Valencia and scupper the whole thing.
