Why Wolves must push ahead with their interest in Bruno Viana

According to Birmingham Mail, Wolves have been linked with a summer move for Braga defender Bruno Viana.

The 25-year-old centre-back moved to Portuguese side Braga back in 2018 following a successful one-year loan spell with them from former side Olympiacos.

Viana has established himself as a regular presence at the back for Braga in the last three seasons since his move from the Greek side. He proved his worth in the current Braga line-up this season too, playing in 27 of their overall 31 league matches, keeping seven clean sheets.

The Brazilian defender is not someone new to Wolves, having faced them in the Europa League group stages earlier this season. Moreover, he played a key role in their 1-0 away win against Wolves at the Molineux with his rock-solid displays in defence.

Viana can solve Wolves’ defensive woes

Having proved himself in the Portuguese top-flight and the European competition, Viana has now caught the attention of Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo. The Portuguese manager is on the lookout for a new centre-back after deciding to offload veteran Ryan Bennett to rivals Leicester City back in January.

A new centre-back remains a top priority for Nuno ahead of Wolves’ new season as they are short of an established defender to partner regular stars Conor Coady and Willy Boly in their three-man defence.

Nuno has mostly opted to play veteran Romain Saiss this season. However, he is more of defensive midfielder than a centre-back. Apart from Coady and Boly, Wolves just have young defender Max Kilman as a back-up but the 23-year-old lacks big-game experience.

Kilman, who arrived in 2018, has featured just three times in the Premier League this season, making complete sense of Wolves’ interest in Viana, who has a release clause in the region of £20million.

Hence, they should push ahead with their interest in the Braga defender and bring him to the Molineux as soon as possible.

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Verdict

It is clear that Wolves have a dearth of established centre-backs in their side and who better than Viana, who has proved himself already at Braga. The Brazilian is nothing short of experience and will be a valuable addition to the side next season. At just 25, he could also prove to be an excellent replacement for their out-of-favour veteran Bennett.