Wu Lei won the Chinese Footballer of the Year in his last two seasons with Shanghai SIPG (Getty Images)
According to Marca, Premier League outfit Wolves have opened talks to sign Espanyol winger Wu Lei in the summer.
Lei, 28, rose through the youth ranks of Genbao Football Academy in China. He moved to Shanghai SIPG in January 2005 and spent 14 years at the club, making 218 appearances. He also helped them lift the Chinese Super League title in 2018 with 27 goals and 10 assists and ended as the league’s top scorer that season.
After an impressive time with Shanghai SIPG, he was signed by Espanyol in January 2018. However, he has not lived up to the expectations and is set to enter the final six months of his contract with the Catalonian club.
Wolves, meanwhile, have enjoyed a good 2019/20 campaign. They are currently 6th in the league standings, 5 points below fourth-placed Chelsea and are aiming to qualify for the Champions League.
However, the manager should turn his attention towards the next campaign and prepare a team if they are to challenge for various titles in the near future. Having beaten all odds to rise to the top, Wolves should now focus on trophies. For that to happen, they need to bring in reinforcements and strengthen multiple positions.
The Midlanders lack depth in the centre-forward position and the manager should focus on bringing in strikers. Raul Jimenez is the only recognized striker in the squad and the Mexican has done a wonderful job upfront with 13 goals and 6 assists in 29 league games.
Apart from him, they don’t have a proper striker. Thus, they should bring in a centre-forward to bolster the depth in the squad. However, signing Wu Lei would not be a wise decision by the club.
The 28-year-old won the Chinese player of the year last season. But he hasn’t been able to replicate that good form for Espanyol. In 16 La Liga games last term, he managed just 3 goals and has scored four goals in 23 games this season. Given his struggles in La Liga in the past two years, he might find similar difficulties to adapt to Premier League football.
Though it is clear that Wolves are in need of a centre-forward to support Jimenez upfront, signing the Chinese international would just end up wasting their resources. The 28-year-old hasn’t been able to adapt well to La Liga and may find it tough to get used to the rigours of English football. Hence, Wolves should look to sign a young and in-form player.
