Wolverhampton Wanderers and Jorge Mendes. It's often been a fruitful partnership, but the latest client to be mooted to Molineux is better off being swerved at all costs...

What's the word?

According to La Repubblica (via Sport Witness), mooted Wolves target Faouzi Ghoulam is on the chopping block at Napoli as they are keen to balance the books following the mega-money arrival of Victor Osimhen.

It's also been claimed that the Algerian left-back dreams of a move to the Premier League and specifically the Midlands outfit.

The same report details a story from Corriere dello Sport, who state that his agent Jorge Mendes was working on a deal to bring him to Molineux.

Mendes has been trying to get his contract terminated at the San Paolo Stadium, which is thought to cost around €12m (£11m) plus bonuses.

Meddling Mendes

Without the Portuguese super-agent, Wolves may not have been able to sign the likes of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Diogo Jota, Rui Patricio and even manager Nuno Santo but this move is a step too far in terms of reliance.

Ghoulam, on the face of it, would help an emerging issue at the club with Jonny Castro out injured but the 29-year-old has barely featured himself over the last few years.

This season, he started just three matches whilst he hasn't managed to feature from the off more than 12 times in the last three campaigns.

A combination of knee and muscular problems have kept him out of action, which is hardly much encouragement when Wolves need a regular starter - even more so after the departure of Matt Doherty.

It just seems like Mendes is trying to sort his client out with a decent move rather than the club itself, so Nuno Santo must reject the chance to sign another one of his players this time around.

Former Napoli fitness coach Corrado Saccone believes Ghoulam "is a world-class player" who deserves to play for one of Europe's elite and has also claimed that he has "extraordinary resistance" - referencing his physical attributes.

But evidently, this just hasn't been the case for several years now. Wolves must avoid him at all costs.

AND in other news, Jeff Shi would be making a mistake with reported Wolves long-term target...