Wolverhampton Wanderers rejected a late summer move from Sporting as they tried to re-sign playmaker Pablo Sarabia.
Wolves had a fairly frantic end to the summer window.
Matheus Nunes completed his big move to Manchester City whilst Wolves brought in a number of new faces.
Santiago Bueno, Enso Gonzalez, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Tommy Doyle arrived, giving Gary O’Neil some new blood.
There could have been another departure though, with Wolves rejecting a late approach…
Wolves blocked Pablo Sarabia to Sporting
Portuguese website Leonino – a Sporting-based site – now report an exclusive about Wolves playmaker Pablo Sarabia.
They claim that Sporting asked Wolves about a deal for Sarabia just days before the transfer window closed.
It’s stated that Wolves were absolutely firm – they refused to strike any kind of deal with Sporting, whether loan or permanent.
The answer ‘surprised’ Sporting but a deal was completely ruled out by Wolves, who wanted to keep hold of Sarabia.
Sporting were looking to give Sarabia a return to Lisbon given that he spent the 2021-22 on loan at Sporting from Paris Saint-Germain.
Sarabia smashed 21 goals and eight assists in all competitions during that spell, becoming a Sporting favourite.
Wolves completely blocked an emotional return though, leaving Sporting disappointed.
It’s fair to say that Sarabia was a total Julen Lopetegui signing.
Lopetegui worked with Sarabia in the Real Madrid setup and talked up his long-standing relationship when Wolves signed him earlier this year.
Sarabia never quite got going in a Wolves shirt and managed just one goal and no assist in 13 games under Lopetegui.
Sarabia is now trying to prove himself to O’Neil, but he has started just two Premier League games this season and played only 189 minutes of league action.
The 31-year-old was given just 15 minutes at Bournemouth on Saturday and his future appears a little unclear.
If Sarabia’s playing time doesn’t change before January, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him leave – and maybe Sporting will come knocking again.
