Could reaching the Europa League qualifiers help Wolverhampton Wanderers land Walter Benitez?
Wolverhampton Wanderers officially qualified for the preliminary stages of the Europa League this past weekend.
Manchester City’s 6-0 demolition of Watford in Saturday’s FA Cup final guaranteed Wolves’ passage into the qualifiers of Europe’s secondary competition.
And could it be the carrot needed to lure one of Europe’s best goalkeepers to the West Midlands?
Goal.com reported earlier this month that Wolves were leading the race to sign Nice stopper Walter Benitez, with the report adding that a ‘lack of European football’ at Nice next season would ‘no doubt’ play a role in the Argentinian’s decision on his future.
The 26-year-old isn’t quite a household name, but the numbers indicate that he has been among the continent’s best during the 2018-19 campaign.
Benitez, who aspires to represent Argentina in the future, has conceded only 29 times in 34 Ligue 1 outings this season, two more than Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, valued at £105 million and linked to Manchester United [ESPN FC].
Overall, eighth-placed Nice have shipped 35 goals in 37 league games, only three more than champions Paris Saint-Germain.
The South American has also made 112 saves [ESPN], seven more than Oblak [ESPN].
As of May 17, Benitez had the best save percentage [80.88%] this season of any goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues, including Liverpool rock Alisson.
Only Valencia keeper Neto [141] has faced more shots on target than the former Quilmes ace [140], who joined Nice in 2016 and is entering into the final year of his contract.
Wolves’ foray into Europe will no doubt help manager Nuno Espirito Santo on the recruitment front, and it’ll be interesting to see if Benitez – who, according to Goal.com, wants the ‘best possible exposure’ – is tempted by his project at Molineux.
Going by the above numbers, Nuno should definitely be tempted by him.
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