Wolves are targeting Celta Vigo playmaker Fer Lopez to bolster Vitor Pereira’s squad ahead of 2025/26.
The summer transfer window started with a flurry of departures, as Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri completed moves to Manchester United and Manchester City.
Pereira needs to replace the pair, and can do so through Lopez, who has been identified as a Cunha replacement.
Though the 21-year-old has a long way to go before he can be considered a worthy successor to the Brazilian, Lopez can certainly offer Wolves something that will be missing after Cunha’s departure.
RC Celta de Vigo v Rayo Vallecano de Madrid - La Liga EA Sports
Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/JAR Sport Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Fer Lopez’s former coach was amazed by his dribbling ability
Wolves could sign Lopez for just £17m this summer, which is a bargain buy for a player who is highly rated in Spain.
The target recently holidayed with Jorgen Strand Larsen, causing rumours to heat up amid the summer transfer window.
Capable of playing in attacking midfield and on the wing, it’s clear why Lopez has been dubbed a possible Cunha replacement, but the youngster can offer more than just positional cover for the Brazil international.
Speaking to Suffolk News in 2024, former coach of Lopez, Paul Grainger, explained how amazed he was by the Spaniard’s dribbling ability during the early days of his career.
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“Fernando had the most incredible dribbling skills I have ever seen, even at 14, I couldn’t see anything beyond a great career for him,” Grainger explained.
“He would practice hour after hour, fading light, torrential rain, putting every possible minute into practising and fine-tuning his skills.”
Fascinatingly, Lopez already has ties to England, having been based at Finborough private school in Suffolk after arriving there on an initial summer camp as a language student.
Lopez and Grainger did one-to-one work together during that time, and it’s fair to say that the coach was left impressed by his former scholar.
“After Fernando returned to Spain, we kept in regular contact and I followed his career closely, including a couple of visits to see him train and play,” Grainger went on to say.
“It’s great to see him now playing at the very highest level and having been recruited to the world’s leading agent, but still remaining the same humble lad we all knew at school back then.
“Nobody deserves it more, and here’s hoping he goes on to be a superstar.”
Fer Lopez of Celta Vigo celebrates a goal with his teammates in La Liga.
Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images
Wolves need a direct ball carrier
Lopez’s defensive work rate has been identified as a possible selling point to Wolves, and that’s not the only thing, as his dribbling ability will certainly be under consideration.
After losing Ait-Nouri and Cunha, Wolves will have to find a replacement to contribute in the final third, as well as a keen dribbler to carry the ball forward.
Rank in Wolves squad Player Average dribbles
1 Matheus Cunha 1.8
2 Rayan Ait-Nouri 1.7
3 Nelson Semedo 0.9
Wolves’ best dribblers in 2024/25 Premier League – WhoScored
Over the 2024/25 Premier League, Wolves’ top three dribblers based on per-game averages were Cunha, Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo, who is also expected to leave the club.
This opens the door for a keen dribbler such as Lopez to enter the fold to bolster that area, and his former coach has certainly strengthened his claim to Pereira’s project.
It would be interesting to see the 21-year-old return to England as a professional after spending time learning the ropes with Grainger as a teenager.