Report: Wolves have practically concluded £9m deal for Rio Ave’s Pele

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Pele is reportedly set to bid farewell to the Primeira Liga ahead of an expected move to Premier League newcomers Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolverhampton Wanderers appear to be on the verge of their first signing of what is expected to be a busy summer at Molineux.

The Mail reported three weeks ago that Wolves had sent scouts over to Portugal to watch Rio Ave midfielder Pele in action against Chaves and he did not disappoint, scoring two penalties to seal a 2-1 victory.

It is understood that Pele would cost around £9 million, and Wolves’ connections to the Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes appeared to give them the advantage over Benfica in the chase for a player they were first linked to back in 2016.

And according to Friday’s A Bola (18 May), Wolves have practically concluded the signing of the 26-year-old dynamo, so expect to see him posing in that famous gold kit sooner rather than later.

Pele, a former Portuguese U21 ace who now plays his international football for Guinea Bissau, is an excellent all-round midfielder useful at both ends of the park. He scored seven goals in 31 Primeira Liga starts for Rio Ave in 2017/18, the most prolific season of his career.

It is understood that Benfica, who signed Pele in 2015 and sold him to Rio Ave last summer, still own 50 per cent of his rights so any transfer fee paid by Wolves would have to be shared by both clubs.