Wolves Opinion: Signing Nicolas Lopez would be a big gamble for Nuno Santo
According to the Birmingham Mail, Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo has set his sights on Uruguayan striker Nicolas Lopez as he looks to bolster his attacking options in the summer.
The 25-year-old former Uruguayan youth international has been in sublime form for Brazilian outfit Internacional, accumulating 11 goals and 6 assists from 35 appearances in the league.
His red-hot form has drawn the attention of Wolves who are reportedly looking for new players in the attacking third after missing out on Chelsea starlet Tammy Abraham in January, claims the Birmingham Mail.
Lopez started his career in his native Uruguay at Nacional before being snapped up by Roma in 2012. He impressed at the U19 level and also scored once in the Serie A in his debut season but he was sold to Udinese after just one year at the club.
Lopez found it difficult to settle at Udinese and had unsuccessful loan stints at Hellas Verona and Granada before returning on loan to play at his boyhood club Nacional in 2016. The striker found his feet once again after returning to his native land and has starred for Brazilian side Internacional for the last couple of seasons.
Regarded as a promising young striker in his younger days, Lopez was tipped to achieve success in Europe but his promise never really materialized in the Serie A.
The silver ball winner at the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup has not yet managed a single cap for Uruguay at the senior international level, which clearly shows that his stocks have been on the decline ever since his lacklustre spell in the Italian top flight.
Lopez has rediscovered his goal scoring mojo in Brazil but Wolves would be better off looking at other targets to bolster their squad. He struggled to make the step up from the South American leagues to one of the top European leagues and there is every chance that Nuno Santo might see his cash go down the drain if he goes forward with the move.
Very few unproven players from South American leagues have successfully established themselves in a highly-competitive league such as the Premier League, something that the manager should keep in his mind.
Tactically speaking, Nicolas Lopez would be a good signing for Wolves. A fast, agile and athletic striker with plenty of pace, flair and trickery on the ball, Lopez is a versatile attacker who can play out wide on either flank and also spearhead the attack.
To add to that, his pace and eye for goal make him a potent threat from counter-attacks and given that Wolves have relied on such a philosophy quite often, Lopez would fit perfectly into Nuno Santo’s plans.
Bringing in quality players to add more depth to the squad should be a top priority for the manager but investing in Nicolas Lopez would be too big a gamble for Wolves, particularly after seeing last summer’s big-money recruit Adama Traore fail to make an impact.
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While making Raul Jimenez’s stay permanent would be high on Nuno Santo’s wish list for the summer, the manager should use his ties with super agent Jorge Mendes to freshen up his squad with some fine young talent from across the continent.
