Report: Diogo Jota was not keen on Wolves move but Nuno proved decisive

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Like Willy Boly, Atletico Madrid’s Diogo Jota had his doubts about moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have made a number of eye-catching signings in the current transfer window, even smashing the all-time Championship record to land Portuguese starlet Ruben Neves from FC Porto for a cool £15.8 million (Daily Mail).

And while a series of transfer coups have been credited to the involvement of super-agent Jorge Mendes, a close confidante of Wolves’ Chinese owners, much of the praise must go to manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

Nuno will be reunited with two of his former players at Wolves

Because it appears that he was at the heart of two of Wolves’ most intriguing summer deals. According to A Bola, Nuno personally phone called defender Willy Boly, who he worked with at Porto last season, to convince him to swap Champions League for the Championship.

The 26-year-old eventually put pen to paper at Molineux, 12 months after he rejected the chance to join from Braga for a fee of £6.8 million, the report adds.

It’s who you know

And it appears that Nuno has once again worked his magic in the transfer market. The former Valencia coach, who was famously Mendes’ first ever client, has also played a major part in one of the summer’s most impressive coups; Wolves’ impending signing of Atletico Madrid starlet Diogo Jota.

According to the Express and Star, the 20-year-old is set to join on a season long loan with an option to buy, 12 months after Atletico paid £6 million to sign him from Pacos de Ferreira. Jota spent last season on loan at Porto under Nuno, scoring nine goals in all competitions.

Jota featured heavily in Porto’s first team last season

And it appears that a reunion is on the cards. According to Madrid-based publication AS, Jota was far from keen on a summer move to the Midlands initially.

However, the report claims that Nuno has been decisive in convincing the Portuguese youth international to swap a club who featured in two of the last four Champions League finals for one that finished 15th in the Championship last season.