Wolves held talks to sign 28-year-old but scrapped £5million deal on deadline day
Wolves were in advanced talks to sign Ligue 1 defender from Strasbourg Alexander Djiku in a potential £5million deal before turning to Premier League veteran Craig Dawson on transfer deadline day, according to The Team.
In the end, neither of the two players will arrive at Molineux.
West Ham have blocked Dawson’s return to the Midlands after missing Jan Bednarek at Aston Villa. Wolves opted to prioritize the former West Brom stopper over Ghana international Djiku. And once a deal was struck for the former, it may simply have been too late in the day to make a concerted effort for the latter.
Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to L’Equipe, were in “advanced” talks with Djiku earlier on Thursday. They were willing to pay around £5million for a man to play a starring role as Strasbourg’s surprise packages flirted with European qualification in a stellar 2021/22 campaign.
The Alsatian formation would not have bothered Djiku either. But with the arrival of neither him nor Dawson, coupled with the £13million transfer of the versatile Leander Dendoncker to Aston Villa, Bruno Lage’s backline actually looks weaker now than it was late. august.
Wolves miss out on West Ham’s Alexander Djiku and Craig Dawson
Wolves have reportedly offered £5.25million for Dawson, who is keen on a return to the Midlands. West Ham wanted £7million, however. And even if Wolves had increased their initial offer, David Moyes would have likely blocked Dawson’s exit after the Hammers failed to lure Poland international Bednarek to the London Stadium from Southampton.
Interestingly, the Saints also had Djiku on their radar. In the end, Southampton secured another Ligue 1 import in Duje Caleta-Car, an £8m man from Marseille.
“Duje is already a very established and experienced player,” Patron of Saints Ralph Hasenhuttl beams. “Who did an impressive job at his previous clubs.
“He is very present on the pitch and he will bring even more quality to our central defending group. It is important that we have good depth and options in this position. And he gives us another very strong one.
Wolves, on the other hand, did finally securing the services of Metz midfielder Boubacar Traoré.
In other news Wolves’ loss will be Liverpool’s gain if the £18m star ends up at Anfield