Espanyol striker Wu Lei admits he is flattered to find himself in the gossip columns after being linked with a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, speaking to Espanyol’s Weibo account, via Pandaily.
The Parakeets may be plummeting their way into the second division, tumbling out of the La Liga nest with just 24 points from 30 games thus far, but that does not mean that scouts are not flocking to Catalonia.
Spain U21 playmaker Marc Roca continues to catch the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs, from Arsenal to Bayern Munich, Real Madrid to AC Milan.
Chinese international Wu Lei is also a man in demand with Marca claiming earlier this month that Wolves have renewed their interest in a man they have been watching since 2018 (Express and Star).
And while the diminutive 28-year-old sees the funny side of all this speculation, he did suggest that being linked with one of England’s most upwardly mobile sides is a source of pride.
“We joked about it, saying that media outlets have already sold half of the team,” Wu Lei says.
“But on the other hand, this shows that our talents are recognized by people.”
Wu Lei is the all-time record goalscorer in the Chinese top-flight, hitting the net 151 times in 296 games for Shanghai SIPG.
He has found goals a little harder to come by in Spain, however, scoring just his fourth of the La Liga campaign during a recent 2-0 win over Alaves.
So Wolves fans would be forgiven if Wu Lei is a man actually capable of taking Nuno’s team to a new level – or whether this is more of a marketing ploy on behalf of their Chinese owners.
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