Wolves emerge as frontrunners for Atletico Madrid midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia?

Wolverhampton Wanderers are reportedly hopeful of signing Atletico Madrid midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia this summer.

Having successfully moved Wolves off the bottom of the Premier League to 13th position, head coach Julen Lopetegui had plans for another spending spree over the coming months.

However, it has become known that the West Midlands outfit face FFP issues ahead of 2023-24, with the club effectively needing to sell and reduce their wage bill before they can buy new players.

Joao Moutinho and Diego Costa have already left on free transfers, as could Adama Traore if he opts against penning fresh terms at Molineux.

The situation surrounding Ruben Neves remains complex, though, with Barcelona allegedly reluctant to push through a big-money deal for the Portugal international.

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That impasse has the potential to frustrate Lopetegui and delay Wolves' efforts to do business, yet it appears that they have identified their preferred alternative.

According to AS, Wolves are ready to reignite their interest in Kondogbia, who is available for a cut-price fee.

Although the 30-year-old is a valued squad member at Wanda Metropolitano, he is available for transfer this summer as Atletico look to generate funds of their own.

Kondogbia made 13 starts and 11 substitute outings in La Liga and the Champions League during 2022-23, but he rarely featured during the second half of the campaign.

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Since his successful three-year stint with Valencia up until 2020, the Central African Republic international's stock has dropped courtesy of 38 of his 73 league outings for Atletico coming as a substitute.

Nevertheless, it has been stated that Wolves view him as the ideal target, particularly with Atletico allegedly willing to sell him for no more than €6m (£5.1m).

Wolves and Atletico are no strangers to doing business with the English side having signed Matheus Cunha in January, initially on loan with the obligation to buy.

A separate report has indicated that Besiktas are also contenders for Kondogbia, although the current bid from the Turkish giants is deemed far too low and the player prefers to move to the Premier League.