Leeds United considered Norwich City striker Nelson Oliveira in the summer but Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers are now leading chase.
Wolves signing Nelson Oliveira in January would make perfect sense.
For one, the Portuguese striker is the sort of proven Championship goal-scorer Nuno Espirito Santo wants at Molinuex, hitting the net seven times in 14 starts for Norwich City this season. And Oliveira is also a client of Jorge Mendes, the super-agent whose close ties with Wolves’ Chinese owners has resulted in a number of his players making the move to the Black Country.
It will not come as any surprise to learn then, that the Sun is claiming that Wolves are planning a move for Oliveira this month in order to boost their chances of storming to the Championship title.
The former Benfica youngster would not come cheap, Norwich rejected an offer of £10 million from former loan club Swansea City in the summer, but promotion is priceless to Wolves, and they are hardly short of funds regardless.
But Wolves are not the only promotion chasing side who have been credited with an interest in Oliviera. The Yorkshire Evening Post reported in August that Leeds United were considering a move but instead opted for the cheap imported addition of Pawel Cibicki, joining Caleb Ekuban and Pierre-Michel Lasogga at Elland Road.
The decision has arguably backfired, however, with the lack of a natural replacement for Chris Wood holding Leeds back. They haven’t scored in either of their last two games while Cibicki, Ekuban and Jay-Roy Grot are still awaiting their first Championship goal.
Oliveira would be comfortably Leeds’ most expensive acquisition since Andrea Radrizzani bought the club from Massimo Cellino but a reliable goalscorer could be the difference between the Whites reaching the play-offs or missing out once again.
So if Wolves get any encouragement that a deal is possible, Leeds should have some serious thinking to do.
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