Wolves Considering Offer for Sporting Midfielder João Palhinha
By Lee Bushe
Wolves are reportedly considering making a bid for Sporting Lisbon's João Palhinha, with the Portuguese side willing to listen to offers for the 24-year-old defensive midfielder.
Palhinha is currently on loan at Braga, where his impressive performances helped his side to finish top of their Europa League group and go on a ten-game unbeaten run in the Primeira Liga.
He featured against Nuno Espirito Santo's side twice in the Europa League group stages, assisting Braga in their 1-0 win at the Molineux, before helping them to achieve a 3-3 draw in the return game in Portugal.
According to the Daily Mirror, Sporting CP were planning on keeping Palhinha following the conclusion of his loan spell at Braga, where he would be reunited with his former coach Ruben Amorim.
However, Sporting are now understood to be willing to listen to offers for Palhinha, even those below his release clause of £18m, with Wolves being linked with a potential move for the former Portugal Under-20 midfielder.
Despite now being 24-years-old, Palhinha has spent the majority of his career out on loan, having spells with Moreirense, Belenenses and Braga respectively. Indeed, he has made just 18 appearances for Sporting's first team throughout his career.
Should Palhinha make the move to the west Midlands, he would become the tenth Portuguese player to currently be on Wolves' books. The Wanderers have earned a reputation, since their takeover by Chinese investment group Fosun in 2016, for signing a high number of players from the Iberian nation.
This has paid dividends, with Wolves ascending from mid-table Championship obscurity to qualifying for the Europa League. They are on track to qualify for the Europa League for the second consecutive season, sitting in sixth place as of football's postponement in March.
Signing Palhinha would also give Wolves some much needed depth to their squad, as they currently have one of the smallest in the Premier League.