Wolverhampton Wanderers continue to be linked to the same winger pretty much every transfer window and it's not really a surprise given his agent is Jorge Mendes...
What's the word?
According to Le10 Sport, the Midlands outfit have opened 'concrete negotiations' with Atletico Madrid over their winger Thomas Lemar with only ten days remaining before the deadline.
It's claimed that the La Liga side are open to letting the 24-year-old leave having struggled to maintain a place under Diego Simeone since a mega-money move in 2018.
Everton were also in the race to sign him but have now cooled their interest, thus making a move to Molineux make the most sense especially with Mendes at the centre of it all.
Too big a risk
The French wide man cost Atletico a whopping £62m plus €120k-per-week (£110k-per-week) wages from AS Monaco and in return, they've got very little back.
In his first campaign, he only delivered three goals and three assists whilst last season, Lemar failed to provide a single goal contribution and averaged just 0.9 dribbles and 0.5 shots per game, via WhoScored.
Whilst it remains to be seen how much the £21.6m-rated flop would cost, those numbers are hardly inspiring when you're in need of a replacement for one of your biggest players.
There was once a player there as Lemar had been likened to Iniesta very early on during his career with Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris claiming that he's "extremely talented and lethal in front of goal."
The Frenchman has even been dubbed "extraordinary" in the past yet here we are in 2020 and his career hasn't hit the heights it was once tipped to.
You can't help but feel that Mendes' influence is controlling this move and that's not good as he's looking out for himself and his client rather than Wolves themselves.
Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence are far better options to have right now than Lemar. Jeff Shi would walk into a major error if he signs off any deal here.
AND in other news, Forget Costa: Wolves must prioritise £30m speed demon likened to Arjen Robben...