Wolves are reportedly in the market for a £25m Greece international who could solve a worrying issue.
If someone who wasn’t a regular at the Molineux was asked to describe Wolves’ priorities in the summer transfer market right now, they’d probably talk about the need for some flair and creativity in midfield and about the importance of properly replacing Matheus Cunha – but perhaps only those who have been paying close attention would talk about signing a new goalkeeper.
José Sá is the current first choice for Vitor Pereira, but although it didn’t receive a great deal of media attention, the experienced Portuguese shot-stopper endured a pretty tricky campaign. Statistically, it was one of the worst of his career, and that may explain why new reports suggest that Wolves are considering a bid worth up to £25m for a young goalkeeper making his name in Italy.
Wolves reportedly chasing Christos Mandas for a second time
Wolves have been linked with Lazio goalkeeper Mandas before – his name cropped up in the Italian press last summer and while nothing came of it then, a new story from Sport Witness suggests that they could still be in the market for the 23-year-old Greek.
Mandas isn’t a big name, but having spent most of the recent season as Lazio’s back-up he took over as first choice from Ivan Provedel towards the end of the season and impressed sufficiently to suggest that he isn’t going to let the number one jersey go. Unless he moves, that is.
Mandas himself has hardly made much effort to quash reports of a potential transfer: “Next season I hope to still be here, but I cannot know my future,” he told the media. “Last year Wolverhampton contacted Lazio, but the club did not want to consider my departure. [Wolves] said they would return later. The Premier League interests me, but I will not move just for the sake of it.”
Hardly a firm commitment to staying at the Stadio Olimpico, then. Granted, the goalkeeper only signed a new four-year contract in the spring, but a move to England generally means more money and, in Mandas’ case, a very real chance of taking over as Pereira’s main man.
Sport Witness’ report mentions that Wolves made a bid of around €12m (£10m) last summer and could be prepared to offer at least double that – while also speculating that the Biancocelesti would accept an offer of around €30m (£25m).
That’s a lot of money for an arguably unproven goalkeeper. All in all, Mandas, who played for Atromitos and OFI Crete in his home country before moving to Lazio two years ago, has only 89 senior appearances under his belt at club level, along with two caps for Greece. The stats, however, suggest that there is a reason that Wolves are keen.
Why Mandas could be an upgrade on José Sá
The struggles that Sá faced are laid bare in the stats. He managed a save percentage of just 63.2% - the lowest of his career since becoming a first-team regular for Porto back in 2017/18 and the second worst percentage in the Premier League behind Alex Palmer – and allowed 3.2 goals more than he ‘should’ have done compared to the xG of the efforts he faced. His success rate at handling crosses declined somewhat sharply as well.
That, admittedly, follows an excellent 2023/24 campaign in which he posted a solid 73.4% save percentage and prevented 8.9 goals more than he might have done on average, but at 32 years of age it’s reasonable to be concerned that his standards are slipping as he begins to enter the latter part of his career.
In that light, the appeal of Mandas becomes a little clearer. The Greek goalkeeper enjoyed a 73.8% save percentage in 2024/25, following a 75% mark the year before, and is in the black when it comes to the number of goals he’s conceded versus xG faced.
He’s also superb in the air – he stopped 13.5% of crosses that he faced, an absolutely massive number, albeit from a relatively small sample size, and is even more comfortable operating outside of his area than Sá is, as well as being an excellent distributor based on everything we’ve seen so far.
That doesn’t stop £25m from being a sizeable sum to spend on a goalkeeper who can’t really be described as entirely proven – but the talent is undoubtedly there, and he has been highly effective when given chances at the top level so far.
It remains to be seen whether Wolves do indeed return with a second bid for Mandas, and whether Lazio are willing to let him go for a more reasonable sum, but the alleged interest suggests that Pereira and his transfer team are only too aware of Sá’s poor form and are perhaps not convinced by their second choice, Sam Johnstone, either. Change could be coming between the sticks this summer.
Continue Reading