Wolves are in talks to sign £7m ace and club are desperate to sell him

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Vitoria Guimaraes plan to sell Andre Almeida this summer with Wolverhampton Wanderers in talks to bring the Portugal U21 international to the Premier League, as reported by O Jogo. 

The super-agent giveth, the super-agent taketh away.

With Ruben Neves’ future looking increasingly likely to lie away from Molineux, it will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody on nodding terms with Wolves’ transfer policy to learn that Jorge Mendes will be heavily involved in the deal for his replacement. 

According to Portuguese publication Zero Zero, Wolves have entered talks to sign Andre Almeida, as well as his Vitoria Guimaraes team-mate Guilherme ‘Gui’ Guedes. 

Will Andre Almeida replace Ruben Neves at Wolves?

Then again, 22-year-old Almeida would not be a like-for-like Neves successor. He is more mobile and nimble than the former FC Porto captain, after all, at his most effective breaking lines not with piercing through balls but with a burst of acceleration. 

Jornal de Noticias believe that Wolves would be willing to stump up around £7 million for a player who would become the umpteenth Iberian addition of the Fosun International era. 

And Vitoria won’t stand in Almeida’s way. He has just one year remaining on his contract. Vitoria cannot trigger an extension clause in Almeida’s deal, as that would force the club to shatter their wage ceiling. 

Antonio Miguel Cardoso, Vitoria’s president, always planned to sell Almeida this summer. The technically-gifted attacking midfielder is represented by Jorge Pires, an agent who enjoys a very close relationship with Mendes.

Now, Mendes will always hold a special place in the heart of some Wolves supporters, having given the club access to a class of player that may otherwise have remained unobtainable. The relationship between agent and fans has thawed a little of late, however, with some of Mendes’ more recent signings failing to live up to expectations. 

Wolves are also set to lose Romain Saiss and Fernando Marcal, while Joao Moutinho could go too. The Black Country outfit have also missed out on Marquinhos to Arsenal in rather acrimonious circumstances.