Wolves keen to replace player ‘likely’ to leave with Portugal midfielder

Jason Soutar
Reported Wolves target Joao Palhinha during a warm-up

According to reports, Wolves are keen on replacing Joao Moutinho with his Portugal team-mate and namesake, Joao Palhinha.

Palhinha is under contract with Sporting Lisbon until 2026, but the Portuguese side are reportedly willing to let him leave in the summer.


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He has a release clause worth €60m, with recent reports suggesting Sporting are happy to accept a bid in the region of €25m.

The 26-year-old has been linked with Wolves, Atletico Madrid, Newcastle and Manchester United in recent weeks.

He has made 86 appearances for the Portuguese side and is a mainstay in their midfield alongside Matheus Nunes.

According to Jornal de Notícias (via Sport Witness), Wolves would like to ‘add another Portuguese for the options of Bruno Lage’.

They add that Wanderers midfielder Moutinho is ‘likely to leave’ Molineux at the end of the season.

Jornal de Notícias also say that Sporting should be negotiating for ‘at least €30m’ in the summer transfer window.

Elsewhere, Jadon Sancho has suggested that he is “blessed” to be “learning from the best” at Manchester United as he is grateful for three of his teammates in particular.

The winger completed his long-awaited move to Man Utd last summer from Borussia Dortmund. They paid around £73m to sign him.

Sancho struggled at the start of this season but in recent weeks he has been one of United’s standout performers.

He has named Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane – along with Paul Pogba – as the players he is “blessed” to be learning from.

“I’m here with a lot of great players and I’m learning from the best. You’ve got Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane… all these guys have won major trophies and just being in the changing room with them gives you a blessed feeling,” Sancho told United’s official website.

“I’m definitely learning from them, on and off the pitch. Especially in terms of their recovery and how they make themselves better. I’m taking in all the information I can and trying to put it into my game.”