- EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey
Wolves have made their move for Jorgen Strand Larsen and are confident of luring the Celta Vigo striker to the Premier League despite talks with Serie A duo Bologna and AS Roma.
HITC understands that, while Wolverhampton Wanderers feel as if they are well placed to win the race, there is no shortage of competition for the rangy Norway international.
Bologna have been locked in talks. Last seaosn’s Serie A surprise packages have identified Jorgen Strand Larsen as a replacement for Joshua Zirkzee should the elegant Dutchman end up at Manchesgter United or AC Milan.
Roma have also held discussions with Celta Vigo.
Daniele de Rossi’s side have lost Romelu Lukaku, his loan deal from Chelsea coming to an end, while Andrea Belotti recently joined newly-promoted Como after a difficult spell in the Italian capital. HITC have been told that Strand Larsen would be interested in a move to Roma.
LOSC Lille, meanwhile, are watching the situation closely. Lille’s star man Jonathan David is likely to depart with one year left on his contract.
“Leny Yoro and Jonathan David can leave the club this summer,” said president Olivier Letang via The Standard, the former likely to end up at Real Madrid.
“Both have the ‘exit voucher’ due to their contract situation.”
Wolves in for Celta Vigo’s Jorgen Strand Larsen
Strand Larsen’s own contract, meanwhile, runs until 2028. It appears that Celta Vigo would consider selling the powerhouse 24-year-old, however, and Wolves appear to be confident that they are in a good position in the race.
Gary O’Neil’s team have made their move, and can offer good money to both Celta and the player due to the riches of the Premier League.
Strand Larsen, a physical yet very technically gifted 6ft 4ins target man, could fill the role Wolves wanted had earmarked for the similarly sky-scraping Sasa Kalajdzic. That was before an ACL injury ruined the Austrian’s time in the Black Country.
After a hit and miss first season in La Liga, Strand Larsen scored 13 times last term for a Celta side who spent much of 2023/24 battling against relegation. He also hit 17 in his final season at Dutch outfit Groningen before moving to Spain.
Strand Larsen’s intelligence, physicality and hold-up play, meanwhile, could make him the perfect fit for the roving Matheus Cunha at Wolves.
O’Neil was reliant on both Cunha and Hwang Hee Chan for goals last term. Hwang endured a dip in form after the turn of the year, however, while Wolves won only two of the nine games in which the South Korean missed either through injury or international commitments.
Serie A competition for La Liga ace
According to reports in Spain, via Matte Moretto, Celta want £21 million for Strand Larsen.
A Wolves side who have struggled against Financial Fair Play in recent times – preventing a January deal for Chelsea’s Armando Broja – may be hoping to barter down a fee in and around the £15 million mark.
Middlesbrough were interested in Strand Larsen back in 2022, as confirmed by then-manager Chris Wilder. Two years on, his former Celta coach Rafa Benitez believes that the 14-time Norway international would fit in well in England’s top-flight.
“I think he is a player who has a lot of consistency and who is adorning it every time with quality details,” Benitez, the one-time Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss, told La Voz de Galicia.
“He has aspects in the game that he has to improve, and he knows it. (But) he is a hard worker. He has improved his finishing and understanding what he has to do depending on his team-mates and rivals. He is in the growth phase, but he is young and has a lot of desire.
“When he adjusts a couple of things, he has all the potential to go to the Premier League.”
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