Wolves handed chance to sign £12m World Cup winner in swap deal

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Sevilla are taking an interest in Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri, according to L’Equipe, while potentially opening the door for a swap deal involving Argentina’s World Cup winner Marcos Acuna. 

A few days before Argentina defeated Kylian Mbappe’s France in perhaps the greatest World Cup final in football history, Marca reported that Sevilla had removed Acuna from the transfer list due to an unfortunate injury to fellow left-back Alex Telles. 

Acuna had initially been told that he was free to leave in January. Telles’ injury changed all that though, with the 31-year-old looking set to be denied the chance to reunite with his former Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui at Molineux. 

There is, however, a way that Sevilla can kill two birds with one stone. A way to get Acuna off the wage bill while ensuring that Telles’ absence is addressed.

Could Wolves still sign Argentina’s World Cup winner Marcos Acuna?

Per L’Equipe, the La Liga strugglers are ‘particularly’ keen on Rayan Ait-Nouri.  

Now, the France U21 international might have scored half of Wolves four goals since Lopetegui’s appointment, including that 94^th minute Boxing Day winner at Everton, but that only tells half the story. Ait-Nouri is actually yet to start a game under the ex-Real Madrid boss; Hugo Bueno firmly establishing himself as one of the first names on Wolves’ team sheet. 

Would Wolves let Ait-Nouri go if Sevilla offer Acuna in exchange? Having turned 31 in October, Acuna is not exactly a typical Wolves signing. He is, however, more a ‘finished article’ than the exciting but erratic Ait-Nouri, and boasts an excellent relationship with Lopetegui. 

Acuna played perhaps the best football of his career under the 56-year-old at Sevilla. He was arguably La Liga’s finest left-back in 2021/22 too. And Acuna would arrive at Molineux with his confidence sky high, having played a major role in Argentina’s first World Cup triumph since Diego Maradona’s heyday all the way back in 1986. 

“We are opening up different options,” Lopetegui said in December. “Because the reality is that we have to reinforce the team in different positions. (Acuna) is a player that I like. But we will see what happens.”