He scored twice in the Club World Cup, including against Chelsea
Reports from South America indicate Wolverhampton Wanderers are readying a bid for Wallace Yan, the 20-year-old Flamengo striker who scored twice at the Club World Cup for Flamengo including against Chelsea, and could be available for as little as €15m (£13m).
Wan only played 35 minutes in the tournament but still made quite the impact and Julio Miguel Neto believes Flamengo could be keen to make a quick buck given how high the youngster’s stock has risen compared to his experience in senior football.
Neto reports that despite the €50m (£43m) release clause in Wan’s contract, which expires in 2027, Flamengo are ready to open negotiations at €15m and are “unlikely to play hardball” if a bid exceeds €18m (£15.5m).
Wolves have spent less than half of the almost three-figure windfall they received for sending Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri to Manchester, though Yan would likely be a signing with a long-term vision rather than a player who could make an immediate impact for Vitor Pereira.
Breakout summer indicates Yan’s ready for the big time
There’s not too much tape to analyse Yan on, but his Club World Cup performances have been impactful and impressive.
Less than a minute after his introduction against the Blues, Yan made a clever run bisecting the left side of Chelsea’s overstretched defence and linked a deft 1-2 before his teammate’s shot deflected to him and he smashed the ball past Robert Sanchez.
His goal against Los Angeles FC was even more eye-catching, as the striker ghosted into space between the lines, outmuscled an opponent as he surged into the penalty area than blasted an unstoppable finish past Hugo Lloris right into the bottom corner.
While 20 can be a not-so-tender age in Brazilian football, Yan hasn’t had the same workload that Endrick, Vinicius Jr, Gabriel Jesus or Estevao had at the same point in their careers so to show those all-round striker instincts from such limited first-team opportunities is hugely promising and indicates he could be well worth a gamble of around £15m
Yan news unlikely to offset Guessand disappointment
Wolves remain on the search for a striker to help replace Cunha’s 15 Premier League goals last season as they look increasingly unlikely to sign €29m (£13m) Nice forward Evann Guessand.
Pereira had been pursing the 24-year-old off the back of a 12-goal Ligue 1 campaign, but L’Equipe report that Wolves are effectively out of the race for Guessand now Brighton, Roma and Fenerbahce have all joined the hunt.
Yan is a striker, but given his inexperience, a loan move to the continent (potentially to the Primera Liga) could be the most sensible next step for his development so he’s absolutely not a like-for-like replacement target for Guessand.
Most of Yan’s gametime in senior football has come at state level in a Rio de Janeiro league, while he’s only played 81 minutes in the Copa Libertadores and Campeonato Brasileiro this season.
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