Nelson Semedo - on Barcelona's "unsellable" list in August, joining Wolves in September
In mid-August, Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu made it clear that seven players at the club were not available for transfer this window - among them was their Portuguese right back Nelson Semedo, who is now on the verge of completing a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Speaking only last month, Bartomeu said, of Ousmane Dembele: “He’ll stay. Messi, Ter Stegen, Lenglet, Nelson Semedo, De Jong, Griezmann and Dembele are not for sale.” But with the transfer window approaching its end, Nelson Semedo is now firmly on the way out, with Wolves possessing the funds to make the transfer a reality. Jorge Mendes has also played an integral role in helping his client make the move to the English Premier League.
Having led the negotiations that saw both Matt Doherty and Diogo Jota leave the club for Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool respectively, Wolves are now set to benefit once again from the superagent’s connections, with Mendes facilitating a move that, just last month, seemed impossible.
Semedo’s arrival as the latest member of Wolves’ heavy Portuguese contingent is expected to cost Wolves around 40 million euros, a similar figure that they earned from the sale of Jota to Liverpool.
The 25-year old showed great quality during his time at Barcelona, with his pace and attacking endeavour down the right flank on the overlap epitomising what is expected of a modern-day fullback, though his stock at the Spanish giants had fallen considerably due to perceived defensive weaknesses, with his abject performance in Barcelona’s 8-2 thumping at the hands of Bayern Munich labelled by one journalist as the worst individual performance ever seen in a Champions League match.
After that, his status on the world stage fell quite considerably, and is understood to be one of the reasons that Barcelona did not want to sell, as they felt they would be unable to get offers matching their asking price.
However, Wolves realise that a right wingback position would be the perfect fit for the 26-year old Portugal international, and he should fit Nuno’s system very well.
