One player who is fully expected to leave Wolverhampton Wanderers on a permanent basis this summer is midfielder Prince Oniangue.
Prince signed under Walter Zenga in the rather hit and miss summer transfer window of 2016, but he has spent more time away from Molineux in that time than actually at the club and being involved.
The French-born Congo international spent the second half of last season out on loan at Ligue 1 side Angers, while spending most of Paul Lambert’s time at the club out at Bastia.
Wolves spent around £2m on Prince to bring him to England in the first place, and he started rather well.
The midfielder scored in the draw with Burton at Molineux and in the defeat at Wigan under Zenga, but hasn’t featured since under neither Lambert or Nuno Espirito Santo.
As Wolves continue their preparations for the Premier League, and the calibre of target improves, it’s looking less and less likely that Prince has any sort of future at the club.
He does, however, still have two years left on his current contract with Wanderers and so they still need to find a buyer if they’re to shift Prince permanently from their wage bill.
Reports in France, via Sport Witness , suggest that the club president of Caen is hopeful of completing a transfer before the squad returns for pre-season training towards the end of next week.
Wolves will be eager to recoup as much, if not the entirety, of what they spent on Prince as possible when they signed him from Reims.
Raul’s safety net
Raul Jimenez’s parent club Benfica have taken extra steps to cover themselves should the striker’s loan spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers not end in a permanent agreement.
Wolves captured the Mexican striker for the forthcoming season after striking a deal with Portuguese side Benfica, and the loan signing came hand in hand with an option to buy, for a fee thought to be a rather sizeable €38m.
It would mean Jimenez, who is out in Russia with his country as they prepare for the knock-out stages of the World Cup, would likely have to seriously impress to warrant such a triggering of the permanent clause in the deal.
Should the loan status not be transformed into a permanent move come next summer, Benfica were previously facing the return of a forward with only a single year left on his contract at the Estadio da Luz.
Now, though, to combat that eventuality, the Eagles have triggered an extra year in their favour that exists in Jimenez’s contract as Sport Witness point out.
It means that should Jimenez return to Portugal next summer having not earned a permanent move to Molineux, the attacker will still have two years to run in Lisbon and Benfica will be able to recoup a fair transfer fee.
Marshall bids farewell to Molineux
Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Ben Marshall has signed a four-year deal with Norwich City.
The 27-year-old had been thought to be Millwall bound until the Canaries showed their hand to lure the wide man to Carrrow Road.
The Eastern Daily Press reported the interest yesterday and Marshall passed a medical last night.
It ends his 18-month stay at Molineux in which he made 16 appearances.
Marshall joined Wolves for £1.2m from Blackburn Rovers in January 2017 when Paul Lambert was in charge and it is thought the club want to recoup that fee.
He played regularly for Wolves in the second half of that campaign and made nine appearances last term under Nuno Espirito Santo before joining Millwall in January.
Marshall scored three times, in wins over Burton, Barnsley and Bolton, in 17 appearances during his stay at the Den, playing a part as the club caught the eye by rising up the division.
The Lions had hoped to sign him this summer but are now set to miss out to Norwich, who want reinforcements after selling star talents James Maddison and Josh Murphy.
Maddison joined Leicester while Murphy signed for Cardff.
Wolves had a message for Marshall on his departure:
“Everyone at Wolves would like to thank Ben for his efforts during his time with the club and wish him the very best of luck for his Norwich City move.”
More Wolves news
Wolverhampton Wanderers are considering a bid for Swansea City defender Alfie Mawson, according to the Daily Mail.
The Premier League new boys have been linked with Mawson for several weeks and are considered to be among the favourites to sign him during the transfer window.
Speculation has swirled surrounding the future of Mawson, 24, following Swansea’s relegation to the Championship.
Swansea knocked back an offer from West Ham United for Mawson – and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski – earlier this month but the highly-rated centre-back is still expected to leave the club.
The Hammers’ bid fell below Swansea’s valuation which stands above £20m.
Wolves are now said to be considering whether to make a formal approach for the former England under-21 international who has two years left on the deal he signed when joining Swansea from Barnsley in 2016.
Mawson didn’t miss a Premier League match last season and scored three goals.
Wolves have already moved to sign Willy Boly on a permanent deal for around £10million from Porto after the central defender impressed on loan.
The Frenchman scored three times in 37 appearances in old gold as the club cruised to the summit of the division, winning the league by nine points to secure a top-flight return
Wolves also have Conor Coady, Ryan Bennett, Danny Batth and Roderick Miranda as central defensive options as things stand.
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