Wolverhampton Wanderers may be about to suffer a significant setback in the pursuit of one their potential January transfer targets, Lille centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes.
What’s the word?
The west Midlanders were linked to the Brazilian at the end of October by the Daily Mail, who claimed the club were weighing up a bid in January following an injury to Willy Boly.
But fresh reports from The Athletic make for bad reading on any such hopes as it now appears Arsenal are in the race for the left-footed central defender.
They also claim that several other Premier League clubs are keen on him, although no specific team is mentioned. It would be fair to suggest that Wolves may be one of them given previous reports.
Needed addition
Wolves are crying out for an addition in the backline as two central midfielders have been playing there for weeks in Leander Dendoncker and Romain Saiss, even in spite of having Max Kilman and Jesus Vallejo available for selection.
Manager Nuno Santo has already revealed his intentions to bolster his squad in January to expect additions to come while BirminghamLive suggested that he would be looking for central options in both defence and midfield.
Wolves’ chances of signing Gabriel have now taken a hit with other clubs taking an interest in him ahead of next month’s transfer window.
The 22-year-old has impressed in 16 Ligue 1 matches this term, contributing to his side sitting fourth in the division as well as six clean sheets while he has also picked up valuable experience on Europe’s biggest stage by featuring six times in the Champions League, per Transfermarkt.
Gabriel is valued at just £13.5m by Transfermarkt, but with other teams circling in on him, Lille could well try to drive up any potential fee for him, and their previous negotiations over Nicolas Pepe to the Gunners will only help their claims to clinch the Brazilian too.
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Meanwhile, here’s one major reason why Wolves need to add a central defender in January…