By admin 
Wolverhampton Wanderers have had a plethora of talent grace Molineux throughout the years, with few names as prominent in recent times as those who helped Nuno Espirito Santo rise to prominence as manager.
During his four-year reign in Wolverhampton, the Portuguese coach both discovered and recruited some star players, including the dominant midfield combo of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho.
Both midfielders, who were crucial to Nuno’s side’s success, left the Midlands in the summer, with Moutinho’s contract ending and former captain Neves preferring to pursue a lucrative challenge in Saudi Arabia.
Newly appointed manager Gary O’Neil has been tasked, among other things, with finding a midfield tandem to match the level of the duo before his arrival, with deadline day signing Jean-Ricner Bellegarde named as one name to fill the position.
This summer was a challenging environment for O’Neil, and Julen Lopetegui before him, to execute the necessary transactions due to Wolves’ ongoing Financial Fair Play (FFP) constraints, which were exacerbated in part by the large expenditure in the 2022 window.
Bruno Lage surpassed the Old Gold’s transfer record fee of £42m to sign Matheus Nunes that year, but the former Sporting CP midfielder wasn’t the only one on Lage’s radar at the moment. Enzo Fernandez, please take your place.
Were the Wolves on the verge of signing Enzo Fernandez?
Wolves were linked with former River Plate wonder Fernandez in June 2022, according to rumors in Argentina reported by Express and Star, a player who would go on to steal the headlines in England in January 2023.
According to the article, Wolves’ sporting director Mathew Hobbs traveled to South America to discuss a prospective deal for the then-21-year-old star.
It was also revealed that the midfielder had a release clause at River Plate in the area of £17 million, a pittance for the type of talent that the Old Gold might have signed that window.
A different source in Portugal suggested that the Premier League club were on the verge of signing the Argentine before he joined Benfica the following month.
What became to Enzo Fernandez?
According to Molineux News, it was apparently Jeff Shi who ‘decided against’ signing the player, whose first choice was Benfica among the numerous interested clubs.
Shi would always regret not signing Fernandez, if talks were as close as reported, with Benfica instantly realizing his worth and placing a €120 million (£103 million) release clause in his contract.
It was a wise choice to put such an expensive clause in the growing star’s contract, as the Eagles discovered just six months after his debut in Europe.