Wolves monitoring highly rated Croatian midfielder: Smart move in the offing

Wolverhampton Wanderers have performed well in the Premier League after their promotion from the Championship and have generated a lot of admiration from the football fraternity.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are currently placed seventh in the league standings after having collected 40 points from their 28 outings so far.

They have adjusted brilliantly to life in the top flight and are well and truly on course to secure a potential Europa League qualification spot next season.

Besides, Wolves have also made their way into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and are due to face Manchester United in the same.

In order to carry on their good work in the coming seasons as well, the club’s hierarchy has to make some shrewd additions in the summer to beef up their arsenal.

It has been claimed by talkSPORT that Wolves are one of many European clubs keeping close tabs on Maritimo midfield ace Josip Vukovic.

Apart from the West Midlands outfit, their Premier League rivals Chelsea, Watford and Leicester City have also been monitoring Vukovic closely for quite some time.

It is believed that £4m would be enough to prise the defensive midfielder out of the ranks of the Portuguese outfit in the summer.

Josip Vukovic: Player Profile

Vukovic emerged through the youth ranks of the Croatian side Hajduk Split and was eventually promoted to their senior side owing to his impressive showings.

After that, he mustered spells with Istra 1961 and Split before moving to Bosnian side Vitez and Ukranian outfit Olimpik Donetsk.

Last summer, he was signed by his current employers and he has accumulated 16 appearances under his belt in the Primeira Liga so far this term.

He has previously represented Croatian Under-17 and Under-19 sides, although he is reportedly keen to earn a senior call-up for his national side.

Will he be a good signing for Wolves?

Espirito Santo has a good stock of central and central defensive midfielders in his ranks, including the likes of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Romain Saiss.

However, bigger European clubs might try to persuade some of the key midfielders of Wolves to make an exit from the Molineux Stadium and adding Vukovic to the roster would make sense.

The 26-year-old plays in the holding midfield role. He is adept at making quick passes and is particularly good at reading the opposition’s moves and intercepting them. The player does not usually try anything fancy and keeps things simple and efficient providing a stable cover for the back four.

Wolves are unlikely to have any shortage of funds, especially for a deal such as this, and bringing someone like Vukovic would bring more competition for a place in the starting lineup and also add further depth to a side who will have to play the next season with a certain amount of added responsibility on their shoulders along with the possibility of European football.