Wolves fans are urging the club to sign some players, having seen two major sales be made so far this summer.
Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri have both left the club to join Manchester United and Manchester City respectively.
It was inevitable that Cunha would go, and also likely that Ait-Nouri would depart too.
Pablo Sarabia and Craig Dawson are also leaving as free agents, but then, we could see Goncalo Guedes, Sam Johnstone, Tommy Doyle and even Hwang Hee-chan leave Wolves.
Certainly, the forward areas are a priority right now.
But Wolves could also do with some cover at left-back and left centre-back.
Vitor Pereira wants a left-sided defender, because currently Toti Gomes doesn’t have any real competition.
But there is one player who might just be ideal for Wolves’ current needs.
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Wolves should join Leeds United in Reinildo transfer hunt
Reinildo playing for Atletico Madrid.
Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Atletico Madrid defender Reinildo is a target for several clubs at the moment.
The Mozambique international will leave the club after the Club World Cup, and currently has some proposals on the table.
Jacobs says: “Understand Reinildo has received approaches from Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, and Leeds.
“He also has options in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. He will be a free agent after the Club World Cup.”
Reinildo has been with Atletico since 2022, when he joined the club from French side Lille.
He’s clocked up 102 appearances for the club, scoring one goal and making two assists.
Ultimately, we know that Fosun love a cheap deal – and no transfer fee would even be required with Reinildo since his contract is up.
He would be the ideal profile, because although Reinildo is mainly a left-back, he can also play as a centre-back. And he has also played on the left of a three for Atleti in the past.
So that in theory makes him perfect to play in that left sided role where Toti Gomes currently plays. Reinildo could sign as cover, and someone to actually push Toti.
He could also provide an alternative option to Hugo Bueno, who Vitor Pereira will look at in pre-season ahead of him potentially succeeding Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Reinildo could be Wolves’ new Marcal
Wolves have previous for signing slightly older left-sided defenders.
In 2020, Wolves landed Fernando Marcal from Lyon, and he was the same age (31) that Reinildo is now.
Marcal only made 32 appearances for Wolves as he struggled with injuries across his two seasons.
Vitor Pereira after Wolverhampton Wanderers FC v Brentford FC - Premier League
Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images
But Reinildo has had a pretty good injury record during his career. He did suffer a cruciate ligament injury in the 2022/23 season, but other than that he’s remained fit.
According to fbref data, over the last 365 days, Reinildo is in the 92nd percentile for interceptions per 90. This suggests he is particularly strong at reading the game and winning the ball back for his side.
He’s also had a pass accuracy of 85% during that same timeframe, suggesting he is fairly dependable with the ball at his feet.
Breaking The Lines ran an interesting feature piece on Reinildo in 2023 regarding his style of play. They said: “Reinildo is annoying and in a good way. He’s annoying to line up against, as Nico Williams found out on October 15, 2022.
“In a crunch match between Athletic Bilbao and Atleti, Reinildo lined up against the Spain international and delivered one of the best defending performances Spain will ever witness. Reinildo had seven tackles, three blocks, four clearances, four interceptions, and ten recoveries. He even blocked Dani Vivian’s shot with his face while sprawled on the floor.”
Furthermore, as Reinildo hails from Mozambique, his first language is Portuguese, and there are certainly plenty of those at Molineux right now who’d surely help him to settle quickly if he did come.