Atletico Madrid are keen to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers’ forgotten man Rafa Mir after the Huesca loanee broke a La Liga record at the weekend, as reported by Diario del Alto Aragon.
The irony will be lost on no-one at Molineux.
In 31 games this season, a man farmed out by Wolves last summer has scored more goals (15) than Fabio Silva, Willian Jose, Daniel Podence, Pedro Neto and Adama Traore between them during a seriously underwhelming Premier League campaign.
After a glorious double against Levante last week, the Huesca loanee scored twice again, firing his relegation-threatened side to the dizzying heights of 16th with a 3-1 triumph over Elche.
The Express & Star recently suggested Wolves would consider handing Mir a second chance in the Black Country, almost three years since his most recent appearance in Old Gold.
But with Raul Jimenez on his way back to fitness and £35 million record-signing Silva highly regarded by Nuno Espirito Santo, Mir’s immediate future remains uncertain – despite his eye-catching exploits in La Liga.
Reports in Spain now suggest the one-time Valencia wonderkid has admirers at not only Sevilla and Real Betis but also an Atletico Madrid side over-reliant on 34-year-old Luis Suarez in the final third.
Even if they survive the drop, it seems unlikely Huesca could afford to trigger the £9 million option-to-buy clause in Mir’s contract.
That, however, may be a good thing for Wolves. On recent evidence, Mir should be commanding a fee far larger than £9 million in today’s market.
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