Wolves: Alexander Djiku a January target
Wolverhampton Wanderers are planning a January move for Strasbourg defender Alexander Djiku, according to Ghanaian football.
The truth
The report claims that the centre-back was set to join Wolves in the summer, only for the deal to fall apart ‘in the eleventh hour’. He also notes that Bruno Lage’s side failed to secure a move for West Ham United defender Craig Dawson as they searched unsuccessfully for a last-minute central defensive addition.
Significantly, the 28-year-old is out of contract at the end of this seasontherefore Strasbourg may be inclined to sell it at a discount in winter.
The last
According Ghanaian soccerWolves are now preparing ‘another offer’ for the Ghanaian defender at the end of the year.
Lage still sees him as the ‘ideal candidate’ and refused to give up on the transfer. Moreover, the player is expected to be enthusiastic about such a move, having already expressed his desire to play in the Premier League.
The verdict
Wolves could certainly do with another body in midfield, especially one like Djiku who is in the peak years of his career. They currently have Nathan Collins, Max Kilman, Yerson Mosquera and Toti Gomes at their disposal, but they are an inexperienced group, with their middle age coming in at just 22.5 years old.
From this point of view, unloading Conor Coady (29) and Willy Boly (31) after Romain Saiss (32) had already left on a free transfer looks like a potential mistake.
However, they could remedy that with a move for Djiku, a modern defender who displays very high volumes progressive passing (95th percentile among centre-backs in Europe’s big five leagues) and progressive carrying (81st percentile).
He was nicknamed ‘exceptional‘ by former Ghana boss Charles Akonnor and has now racked up 18 selections for his countryhe therefore appears to be a target well worth renewed pursuit.