Wolverhampton Wanderers still have defender Jason Denayer on their ‘radar’ despite transfer deadline day passing, according to journalist Dean Jones.
The 27-year-old is a free agent after leaving Lyon earlier in the summer and is, therefore, able to sign for a new club after last Thursday’s 11 pm cut-off point, just like fellow target Diego Costa.
What is the latest news involving Denayer?
Liam Keen from the Express & Star has reported that ‘Wolves have made an approach’ to sign Denayer after missing out on the signature of West Ham United’s Craig Dawson.
Dawson was supposedly eager to move back to the Midlands for family reasons, but a deal couldn’t be reached between the relevant parties, and Bruno Lage has openly admitted he would like to strengthen at centre-back.
"I know him very well," said Lage. "You are talking about a centre-back that I know very well, I played against him in the Champions League.
"I will continue to say my opinion that I said two days ago, we are very happy with (Nathan) Collins and Max (Kilman), I am still happy with Toti (Gomes) and Yerson (Mosquera), but I think there's a gap between the two that are playing and the two that are not playing.”
Convincing Denayer to put pen to paper on a deal at Molineux could prove to be a tricky task for Lage, though, given the impressive performances of Nathan Collins and Max Kilman.
What has Jones said about Denayer?
Jones believes that Denayer ‘needs convincing of his first-team opportunities’ before committing his future to Wolves.
In an interview with GiveMeSport, he said: “He’s still on the radar. The player himself is weighing up that move and whether it will be right for him.
“I think he needs convincing of his first-team opportunities and how this team is actually shaping up.”
Would Denayer be a good signing?
Denayer enjoyed a string of loan spells at Celtic, Sunderland and Galatasaray before departing Manchester City on a permanent basis in 2018 when Lyon splashed out €13.5 million (£11.6m) to snap him up.
The 35-cap Belgium international went on to register 10 goal contributions in 139 appearances across all competitions for the Ligue 1 outfit and still managed to put up some impressive underlying numbers last season despite dropping down the pecking order.
As per FBref, Denayer ranked in the 99th percentile for pass completion, 89th for passes attempted and 86th for blocks amongst his positional peers over the last year.
The 6 foot ace would, therefore, be a solid addition to Wolves’ defensive ranks, but Lage faces an uphill struggle convincing him over the move.