Exclusive: Wolves on brink of signing Raul Jimenez for club record £25m
Wolverhampton Wanderers are on the brink of signing loan star Raúl Jiménez in a club record £25m deal, in a huge boost for the FA Cup semi-finalists. Nuno Espirito Santo is close to officially completing the signing of the Mexican international on a long-term deal, with negotiations now at an advanced stage with Raúl's club Benfica.
Telegraph Sport understands a fee has been agreed with the Portuguese club for Raúl, who has scored 15 goals for Wolves this season, and confirmation of the deal is expected before the end of the season. It is believed the initial fee will be around £25m, eclipsing the previous transfer record of £18m for Middlesbrough winger Adama Traore, and added instalments could take the overall fee closer to £30m. Wolves’ ambitious owners, Fosun, have made signing the 27-year-old a priority and talks have progressed rapidly over the last few weeks.
Raúl has proved a revelation at Molineux since signing on loan in June, leading the line for Nuno in an attacking three and playing a crucial role in taking Wolves to Wembley.
A former Atletico Madrid forward, Raúl was the man of the match in Wolves’s victory over Manchester United in this month’s FA Cup quarter-final.
After that 2-1 win, in which he scored the first goal, he admitted his desire to remain at Molineux for the long-term.
He said: "I like it very much here. I'm enjoying the team and how I play. It feels very good to be here. I was looking for this sort of feeling since I arrived in Europe, to have this confidence and the games.
“Now that I have it, I don't want to lose it. We all know that we are a team and we are all important here."
Wolves’ following in Mexico has risen dramatically since the signing of Raúl– last year the official Facebook page had 265,000 followers living in Mexico, compared to 112,000 in the UK.
Those numbers are expected to increase even further now that Raúl, a superstar in Latin America, is joining Wolves on a permanent deal.
Raúl scored for Mexico in their 3-1 win over Chile on Saturday and is poised to play against Burnley at Turf Moor this weekend.
Wolves are also preparing for their FA Cup semi-final against Watford next Sunday, the club’s first appearance in the last four since 1998.
Nuno is also in contention to finish seventh in the Premier League after an excellent debut season. If Wolves finish seventh and either they or Manchester City win the FA Cup, Nuno will also qualify for the Europa League.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/03/28/exclusivewolves-brink-signing-raul-jimenez-club-record-25m/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw [ 此帖被羅力亞在2019-04-04 19:51重新編輯 ]
