£1.25m-rated defender Fabio Cardoso appears certain to swap Portugal for Britain – though Wolverhampton Wanderers could have an advantage over Rangers.
Super agent Jorge Mendes represents some of football’s biggest names, including Cristiano Ronaldo
On balance, it was something of an inevitability that Wolves would throw their hat into the ring to sign Vitoria Setubal’s highly-rated centre-back Fabio Cardoso this summer.
And not just because Mike WIlliamson was released at the end of the season just gone.
After all, the Championship club appear set for another Iberian raid in the coming months with Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes handed full control of recruitment by the club’s Chinese owners, Fosun.
Consequently, undermined manager Paul Lambert walked away from Molineux after just six months in charge. The Scot’s recent claims that Wolves could not repeat last summer’s recruitment policy, where a raft of unknown imports were brought in with no challenge of Championship football, meant he was always unlikely to accept Mendes’ growing influence.
Wolves manager Paul Lambert left on Tuesday
The Mendes Factor
And the fact that Mendes is Cardoso’s agent, as reported by the Daily Record, means another former Benfica player could be swapping Portugal for Wolverhampton sooner rather than later.
Whether Cardoso will thrive like enigmatic club-record signing Helder Costa or toil a la Joao Teixeira or Ola John remains to be seen.
Wolves’ Helder Costa – arguably the only Mendes signing to succeed at Wolves
Nonetheless, this means that Rangers appear likely to miss out on one of Pedro Caixinha’s top summer targets. The 23-year-old, who recently admitted he’d heard good things about the Gers boss (Daily Record), has the potential and the skill-set to be the no-nonsense stopper the club desperately need – especially with error-prone Rob Kiernan likely to follow veteran Clint Hill towards the exit.
Ibrox over Molineux?
However, although Rangers finished nine points behind runners-up Aberdeen last season, not to mention choking on Celtic’s dust, Cardoso should perhaps ignore his agent’s advice and choose Ibrox.
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
After all, Rangers will be playing in the Europa League qualifiers in the coming weeks while compatriot Caixinha attempts to build a dynasty capable of dragging one of the continent’s most illustrious clubs back to the top. Rangers’ immediate future looks more exciting than at any stage after their 2012 financial crisis.
Meanwhile, Wolves may have Premier League ambitions but the instability at the club means an escape from the second tier appears unlikely for now.
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