When a bid arrives – like the one Wolves submitted last week – and the player in demand is subsequently left out of the squad, that usually has the effect of sending the speculation into overdrive.
See, for instance, the Mikel Merino situation.
Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil left the Spain international out of his roster for the weekend’s 2-1 home defeat to Rayo Vallecano, before admitting after the game that Merino was indeed an Arsenal target.
Now, the Bastian Meupiyou situation is not quite identical.
While Merino has been one of the first names on Real Sociedad’s team sheet for half a decade now, Meupiyou is a newcomer to the Nantes side. In fact, he’s only made one Ligue 1 appearance so far and that ended after only nine minutes due to a rapid-fire red card.
But with HITC understanding that Wolverhampton Wanderers have submitted a £4.3 million bid for the latest talented young centre-half to come out of France, Meupiyou’s absence from Nantes’ 0-0 draw with Toulouse on Sunday will not have gone unnoticed at Molineux.
Wolves lead Tottenham and Everton in Bastien Meupiyou race
HITC reports that Wolves are confident they will win the race.
Despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and West Ham United, O’Neil’s side are in pole position after improving their initial £3.4 million offer.
Ouest France, meanwhile, add some context to Meupiyou’s weekend omission. This was supposed to be the teenager’s breakout campaign, so what has gone wrong?
Well, he has one year left on his contract. And Meupiyou’s camp are reportedly refusing to extend it, a decision which is unlikely to have gone down well at a Nantes side who will have been hoping to sell for a sizeable fee.
Canaries coach Antoine Kombouare has already made his feelings clear about Meupiyou’s future. The former Paris Saint-Germain boss is desperate to avoid another Randal Kolo Muani situation – the forward leaving Nantes for free and joining PSG for nearly £70 million – a year later but the Ligue 1 outfit now feel powerless to prevent a repeat scenario.
“Having spoken with him and his entourage, he wants to leave,” Kombouare told Tribune Nantaise. “It is not up to us to decide. We would like him to stay.
“On the other hand, and I told his dad, he has to extend his contract. I don’t want him to do a Randal.
“If he stays at FC Nantes, he has to extend his contract. Otherwise, he will leave. They said that they had taken note of our speech.”
Wolves need to replace Max Kilman and Pedro Neto
HITC, meanwhile, understands that Wolves like Burnley defender Dara O’Shea as they also scour the market for a more experienced centre-half. O’Shea would help offset the departure of Max Kilman, though Brentford are also in pursuit having submitted two bids so far for the Republic of Ireland international.
Further forward, Wolves are looking at Feyenoord’s Calvin Stengs, Ajax’s Carlos Forbs, and Porto ace Galeno to fill that Neto-shaped void in the attack.
Porto president Andre Villas-Boas confirmed that offers for Galeno may be considered. Whether cash-strapped Wolves can afford him, however, is another matter entirely.
“I hope the other clubs aren’t treating us as super rich and charging what they want because it’s not what we are,” O’Neil told BBC Sport shortly before Wolves’ 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on the opening weekend.
“The club is still not in a place where it’s able to go and free spend on things. Would I love to say that centre-forward over there looks fantastic, he’s £55m and let’s get him in? Of course.
“But what we’re doing is something very different and we’re trying our best to maximise it.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
