Wolves are reportedly still interested in signing Mariano Diaz and the Real Madrid man could be a better option for Julen Lopetegui than fellow target Matheus Cunha.
According to Calcio Mercato, Wolves are ‘still in the competition’ to sign the 29-year-old striker and could look to bring him to Molineux on a free transfer, as his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu is set to expire at the end of the current campaign.
The Old Gold will be free to negotiate with Diaz from January but would have to wait until the summer to officially sign him in if they wanted him on a free transfer. However, given his lack of playing time with the La Liga giants, you feel that a deal could be done to sign him earlier.
The Dominican Republic international has spent much of his career waiting in the wings at Real Madrid, as he has been unsurprisingly overlooked when in competition with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale for a starting spot in Madrid’s attack.
He did show his class in a brief spell at Lyon however, which encouraged Madrid to re-sign him in 2018 after he managed 20 goals and six assists for the French side in the 2017/18 campaign.
Lyon president, Jean-Michel Aulas described the forward as “high-level” and Diaz will perhaps be looking for one last chance to showcase his obvious ability in the Premier League.
That form in front of goal, combined with his prolific spells with Real Madrid Castilla where he managed 50 goals in 89 appearances, suggests that he could be a preferable option to Cunha in January for Lopetegui.
The Atletico Madrid man has also been heavily linked with a switch to Molineux in recent weeks but has never really lived up to his potential in spells with RB Leipzig and Atletico, hitting just 16 goals in a combined 106 appearances for those two sides.
He would also likely cost far more than Diaz, given that Transfermarkt currently values him at €20m (£17.2m), which could be an expensive mistake if he fails to keep Wolves up.
Therefore, Lopetegui should forget about the Brazilian and instead look to bring Diaz to Molineux next month.