Having brought in the likes of Hayao Kawabe and Chiquinho during the January transfer window, Wolves have been more focused on signing new players rather than letting their current ones leave.

However, it seems as though Bruno Lage could have a challenge on his hands to keep one of the key figures at Wolves this month.

What's the news?

According to La Repubblica (via Sport Witness) Wolves midfielder Joao Moutinho has been identified as a potential January transfer target for Italian club AS Roma.

Moutinho joined Wolves from AS Monaco back in the 2018 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £5m.

Since then, the midfielder has racked up a total of 160 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, scoring four goals and providing 22 assists in the process, highlighting how much of an important player Moutinho has been for them and how much of a bargain signing he has been as well.

Lage would be furious

So far this season, Max Kilman and Conor Coady are the only outfield players with more minutes on the pitch in the Premier League than Moutinho, suggesting that Lage would not be happy to see such a critical figure in his team leave this month.

In terms of a potential move to Jose Mourinho's side away from Wolves, it would be nothing short of a disaster for Jeff Shi and Lage to have one of the key figures at Molineux such as the £100k-per-week Moutinho depart halfway through a season when they're aiming to secure European football once again.

This term for instance, no other midfielder has averaged more key passes per game (1.2) than the Portuguese dynamo which suggests they'd be losing one of the pillars of their side. Furthermore, no one in his position at Molineux has made more successful tackles per outing than his 2.1.

His current contract at Wolves is set to expire in the summer but considering the minimal fee they signed him for, letting him leave on a free transfer in the summer when they have more time to find a replacement would surely be a better idea. After all, losing him midway through the campaign with little time in the window remaining is not covering their backs well.

Furthermore, it could even be worth the Old Gold making an approach to Moutinho to see if he'd be willing to sign a new deal at Molineux, convincing him to stay for a bit longer.

In other news: Forget Trincao: Wolves plotting swoop for “the new Iniesta,” he’d be a big upgrade…