For a few weeks now, Wolves have been linked with new goalkeepers – and it looks as though the club may be set to target one from Spain.
Jose Sa has been the number one at Molineux once again this season, and the Portuguese stopper has had an up and down season.
Dan Bentley has been his back-up, and has only made a handful of appearances, as expected.
It has previously been reported that Gary O’Neil has not been as keen as his predecessor Julen Lopetegui to make a goalkeeping change.
However, it was recently claimed by reporter Johnny Phillips that some of the coaches at Wolves feel that Sa isn’t the right man moving forwards because of his ball-playing.
So far this calendar year, there have been transfer links to the likes of Mile Svilar, Patrick Schulte and Filip Jorgensen.
Now, it has been claimed that Wolves could make a move for Alvaro Valles…
Wolves set to make offer for Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles, contact already made
It has been reported by Marca that Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles has now emerged as a target for Wolves.
They claim that the 26-year-old is currently refusing to commit to a new contact, and so, he is scheduled to leave them this summer.
It is stated that Wolves are one of several clubs willing to make a move for Valles. Apparently, the club are already in contact over the player, and are set to make an offer soon.
Valles was the subject of interest from Nottingham Forest in January, and the Reds supposedly made a £17 million offer which was rejected.
So if Valles is to make a move to Wolves, the club would potentially need to make an offer exceeding that, Marca say.
Valles could be a decent signing
The goalkeeper links just will not go away and it really will be interesting to see if Gary O’Neil clamours for a new stopper this summer.
Valles has enjoyed an impressive season over in Spain, making 31 appearances in La Liga so far.
Valles, 26, has kept eight clean sheets, and has conceded 36 goals. Las Palmas were expcted to struggle this term after clinching promotion, but they are 12 points clear of relegation and Valles has played big part in that.
One of the main criticisms of Sa is that his ball-playing isn’t where it needs to be. His shot-stopping has always been very good, but some feel as though his distribution isn’t great and that he sometimes puts his defenders under pressure.
According to fbref data, Valles has a superior passing accuracy to Sa (80.3% vs 66.4%) which may well be something Wolves officials are looking especially closely at.
Interestingly, Valles also has a higher save percentage in the league than Sa this season (75.8% vs 71.5%).
As per Breaking The Lines, Valles’ greatest strength is his reaction time. He reads danger very well and ‘is prepared to take risks in order to assist his team up front, but the keeper’s awareness to come out of the box to clear or retain possession has been exceptional thus far’.
If Wolves receive a decent offer this summer for Sa, then it could well be that they go full steam ahead for Valles.