Transfer tussle with AS Monaco lined up, with Wolves ‘willing to pay €10m’

Wolves and Pele is a story which goes back two years.

When the Jorge Mendes era was kicking off at Wolves, Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported four players were set to join the then Championship club. Those were Ivan Cavaleiro, Helder Costa, Sílvio and Pele.

Three made the move but Pele picked up a foot injury and ended up going to Rio Ave instead, with Benfica retaining a percentage of his rights, and has done well at the Portuguese club.

This summer has seen many claims from Portugal about Wolves returning for Pele and being keen to get a deal done for the player, but it’s gone quiet for a while.

Questioned specifically about Wolves just over a month ago, the defensive midfielder explained: “I’m going to analyse the proposals with my family and choose the one that I want the most. I’m going to travel for the week, maybe it’s the most likely outcome, but I do not close doors yet. As a child I wanted to play in the Premier League. Plus my whole family lives in London and going for it would be the icing on the cake. I only see them in holiday periods. It would be a unique opportunity to be near them.”

When asked which family, given Pele is Portuguese and it would therefore be expected his family would be in country: “My parents, my brother, cousins, uncles. They are all there, they made the decision to emigrate to London and to never return.”

Saturday’s edition of A Bola reports AS Monaco are now also interested in the Rio Ave player, and it’s stated Wolves are ‘willing to pay €10m’, which is something reported several times in Portugal.

This one is certainly a slow burner, and with Monaco being brought in it’s clear who is in the middle of proceedings.