Report: £35m star not keen on joining Wolves despite Jorge Mendes’ efforts

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Jorge Mendes is struggling to convince Douglas Costa to swap Juventus for Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to Calciomercato.

Just in case there were any lingering doubts about the ambition on show at Molineux, Wolves today announced the signing of a two-time La Liga winner in a £30 million deal from Barcelona.

Nelson Semedo might have struggled to live up to those Dani Alves comparisons in the goldfish bowl that is the Camp Nou, but the arrival of one of Europe’s fastest full-backs feels like yet another watershed moment for a side who were Championship also-rans three years ago.

Since being taken over and then transformed by Chinese owners Fosun in 2016, Wolves have signed players from Benfica, Porto, Sporting Lisbon, Monaco, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Valencia and now Barcelona.

But convincing a £35 million Juventus superstar to follow in the footsteps of Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota and co is proving to be easier said than done.

Tuttosport claimed earlier this week that super-agent Mendes was hoping to make Costa the latest Gestifute giant to join a largely Portuguese-speaking dressing room.

But Costa won’t be scoffing Francesinhas alongside Joao Moutinho at Aromas de Portugal any time soon, it seems.

Calciomercato reports that, despite falling down the pecking order in Turin, Costa is rejecting all offers to leave the Serie A champions.

The Brazil international, who won league titles at Bayern Munich and Shakhtar Donetsk, started just six league games last season and played eight minutes of Andrea Pirlo’s debut game in charge of Juve this weekend.

Perhaps Costa is prioritising a club who are playing Champions League football and fighting for silverware on an annual basis. Despite their rapid rise, Wolves are not there quite yet.