Lage can land dream Neves heir as Wolves now plot bid for "important" £11m "champion" - opinion

Wolverhampton Wanderers are set for a busy summer transfer window according to Bruno Lage, and they may have now identified their first singing before the window has even opened.

Portuguese news outlet JN has reported that Wolves will join the race for and reignite their interest to sign Porto midfielder Sergio Oliveira.

As per the report, the Midlands club are interested in offering Oliveira a fresh start in England after Roma, where he had been on loan this season, did not trigger the £11m release clause to secure his signing ahead of the summer transfer window.

There have been numerous reports linking Ruben Neves with a move away from Molineux this summer, with Barcelona and Manchester United reportedly expressing an interest in the midfielder, so Oliveira could be the perfect heir to his compatriot in the Black Country.

The 30-year-old, who was dubbed “important” and a “champion” by Roma manager Jose Mourinho, has been a solid and dependable performer for the Serie A club this season.

In the most recent Serie A campaign, Oliveira scored two goals, delivered one assist and created two big chances, along with making 1.1 key passes, 1.9 tackles and 27.3 accurate passes per game, He was successful in the majority of his dribbles (53%) and completed the majority of his duels (58%) in 14 league appearances.

It’s safe to say that his loan spell has been successful at Roma, playing all but one game in the Europa Conference League knockout rounds and even scoring the winning goal in their first game in the tournament against Vitesse. The Giallorossi went on to win the competition, claiming their first European trophy in over 60 years.

Replacing Neves would be no easy task if the 25-year-old were to leave the Black Country