Wolverhampton Wanderers have set their sights on luring Sevilla and Argentina star Marcos Acuna to Molineux, but his World Cup performance against Poland means 'a few alarm bells might be ringing', according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
Lopetegui, who was appointed as Wolves' new head coach last month, will be given the opportunity to bolster his squad when the January window opens for business.
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Wolves transfer news - Marcos Acuna
According to Spanish media outlet Vamos Mi Sevilla, Wolves are one of four clubs showing an interest in Acuna and may look to strike a deal during the early stages of 2023.
The report suggests the 46-cap Argentina international has been told to find a new club by current employers Sevilla, and Lopetegui - along with Villarreal, Eintracht Frankfurt and Inter Milan - could pounce.
Acuna appears to be surplus to requirements at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium despite still having more than two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract, which is worth just over £47,000-per-week according to Capology.
La Colina de Nervion have revealed that Sevilla are looking to offload the left-back due to wanting to secure more funds to make signings of their own and a bid worth £12million could be enough to strike a deal.
Acuna made 84 appearances during Lopetegui's time in charge of the La Liga outfit, racking up 10 goal contributions along the way according to Transfermarkt.
Read more: January Transfer Window 2023: When Does It Begin, Rumours and Everything You Need To Know
What has Dean Jones said about Acuna?
Jones initially felt that Acuna would be a shrewd addition to Wolves' squad as Lopetegui looks to claw the West Midlands side out of the Premier League's relegation zone.
But the journalist now has doubts after watching the 31-year-old in action for Argentina against Poland on Wednesday.
When asked whether Acuna would be a good signing for Wolves, Jones told GIVEMESPORT: "I thought so, but then I watched his performance in midweek and I'm not so sure.
"I think a few alarm bells might be ringing if they had him on their radar and then suddenly watched that."
How has Acuna performed at the World Cup?
Despite appearing to be out of the picture at Sevilla, Acuna was still included in the Argentina squad selected by boss Lionel Scaloni ahead of the flight to Qatar.
Having emerged as a substitute during the humiliating 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in the South American country's group stage opener, he started the wins over Mexico and Poland as they booked their place in the last 16, as per Transfermarkt.
However, Acuna was not at his best in the latter contest as he was handed a 6.6 match rating by WhoScored, meaning he had the worst grading out of all of Argentina's outfield starters.
Sofascore statistics show he averaged 1.3 tackles, one clearance and 0.3 interceptions per group stage outing.
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