England's Wolverhampton is off to a bad start this season. This is thanks to the good performances of several players, including ‘Korean Guy’ Hwang Hee-chan (27). But an unexpected problem arose. Other teams are sending a storm of love calls to Wolverhampton players.
British Court Offside reported on the 20th (Korean time), “As interest from Saudi Arabian clubs in Jose Sa Wolverhampton goalkeeper increases, Wolverhampton is looking for a replacement goalkeeper.” Portuguese goalkeeper Jose Sa signed a new four-year contract with his team Wolverhampton last September, with an option to extend the contract period by one year. Under normal circumstances, it would be easy to block interest from other teams, but if the target is Saudi Arabia, it's a different story.
Saudi Arabia is recruiting world-class talent at an alarming rate. He bought the hearts of players with a huge amount of money. It started with the signing of ‘superstar’ Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr) last January. Ronaldo, who played for Manchester United in England, Real Madrid (Spain), and Juventus (Italy), shocked soccer fans around the world with his surprise transfer to Al Nasr. Following him, Brazilian star Neymar (Al-Hilal), Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad), and Sadio Mane (Al-Nasr) headed to the Saudi league.
Among Wolverhampton players, there was one who entered the Saudi stage. Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves wore the Al Hilal uniform. Neves, who played a key role in Wolverhampton, received calls from big clubs such as Barcelona in Spain, but he rejected them. Instead, he chose to move to Saudi Arabia.
He had no business with money. According to the British newspaper The Sun, the Saudi league poured a whopping 784 million pounds (1.26 trillion won) into the transfer market last summer alone. This came from the Saudi state-run Public Investment Fund, which owns Newcastle (EPL). Wolverhampton also appears to be preparing for Jose's departure as they sent Neves. Court Offside emphasized that with Jose's transfer, Wolverhampton could pocket a transfer fee of around 40 million pounds (about 64.5 billion won).
Jose Sa, the Portuguese goalkeeper, played for the prestigious Greek team Olympiacos after playing for CS Maritimou and FC Porto (now Portugal). It was 2021 that he wore the Wolverhampton uniform. As soon as he entered the Premier League, he showed off his super saves and rose to become one of the top goalkeepers in the league. This season, he played in all 12 league games and reliably guarded the team's goal. However, the Saudi League sent a love call, making the future unknown.
It's not just this. South Korean striker Hwang Hee-chan, who plays for Wolverhampton, is also known to be receiving interest from the 'big club' Arsenal.
Spain's Arsenal said on the 19th, "Korean striker 강남레깅스룸 Hwang Hee-chan is performing outstandingly in the Premier League," and "Arsenal is one of the clubs interested in Hwang Hee-chan." Wolverhampton also immediately started to ‘protect Hwang Hee-chan.’ The media revealed that Wolverhampton is pursuing contract renewal negotiations with Hwang Hee-chan to block interest from Arsenal and others.
The British newspaper also said, "Wolverhampton is in the process of negotiating a contract renewal with Hwang Hee-chan. Hwang Hee-chan's contract expires in 2026. He has become a key player for the team this season, and website the club wants to reward him with an improved contract." He explained.
In addition, The Athletic said, "Negotiations are progressing positively as Hwang Hee-chan hopes to remain at Molineux Stadium (Wolverhampton's home stadium). Hwang Hee-chan prefers to work with Wolverhampton manager Gary O'Neill. If the conditions are right, he is expected to sign a new contract." He said.
Arsenal are in need of a frontline striker. Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus is struggling with frequent injuries. He is currently out of the team due to injury. Eddie Nketiah, a 24-year-old young striker, is showing good form with 5 league goals. However, it appears that more options are needed to continue competing for the championship.
This season, Hwang Hee-chan played in 12 league games and scored 6 goals and 2 assists. He has the team's highest score and is tied for 6th in the league in scoring, challenging him to become the surprising top scorer. Hwang Hee-chan stood shoulder to shoulder with league-leading strikers such as Aleksandar Isaacs (Newcastle), Nicholas Jackson (Chelsea), Brian Mbomo (Brentford), and Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth).
In addition, Hwang Hee-chan surpassed his record of 5 goals in the Premier League in one season, which he set in the 2021-2022 season. At the time, he scored 5 goals in 30 league games, but he showed healthy form this season and set a new record early on.
Wolverhampton's Portuguese striker Pedro Neto is also receiving interest from Liverpool and Manchester City. Neto scored 1 goal and 7 assists in 10 league games this season. He is in charge of a one-two punch with Hwang Hee-chan and Wolverhampton.
Last month, Britain's The Hard Tackle reported, "Liverpool is interested in signing Neto. Neto has been playing well this season, and Liverpool sees him as a replacement for Mohamed Salah." Salah is also receiving love calls from the Saudi league. Liverpool plans to recruit Neto to fill the void left by Salah.
It seems that Wolverhampton will have a lot of concerns. Keeping key players has emerged as a major task in the upcoming transfer market.