The latest Wolves transfer news as an important sale is agreed.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have reportedly reached an agreement to sell winger Goncalo Guedes to Real Sociedad after several days of negotiations, according to widespread reports.

The Old Gold have been trying to find Guedes a new club as head coach Vitor Pereira has decided the forward is not in his plans for the coming season or beyond. It’s understood to be the same case for several others, including Fabio Silva and Hwang Hee-chan, though Guedes is the first to see a breakthrough.

Guedes, who signed from Valencia in 2022 for around £27.5 million, has failed to live up to expectations at Molineux and hasn’t done enough to stay. The former Portugal international has contributed just seven goals and six assists in 51 appearances for Wolves across all competitions, costing around £2.1 million per direct goal involvement – and that’s before his wages are considered.

Loan moves to Benfica and Villarreal in 2023 and 2024 were supposed to help Guedes reignite the scintillating form he achieved at Valencia before he joined Wolves, but he still struggled. This is even despite the fact last season was his most productive in a Wolves shirt, at least in terms of minutes, goals and assists.

Sociedad close in on Guedes transfer

It’s a great shame it hasn’t worked out for Guedes but the reality is Wolves had reached a point where they needed to let him go, and now they are finally expected to part ways. Journalist Matteo Moretto revealed on Sunday - via MARCA - that Sociedad had reached an ‘agreement in principle’ to sign Guedes, while it was also mentioned that the player was ready to travel to San Sebastian.

Transfer news specialist Fabrizio Romano has since confirmed this, reporting that a deal is in place for Guedes to leave Wolves for Sociedad. The fee is said to be €4 million (£3.5m) plus €2 million (£1.75m) in add-ons, meaning Wolves will record a loss of around £22.25 million.

Wolves to free up wage budget

Despite losing out on the transfer fee front, Wanderers can still take a positive from Guedes’ departure as significant wage funds are expected to be freed up. According to Capology, the winger is currently on around £90,000 per week, a huge salary considering he often warmed the bench.

With that extra wage budget potentially soon to be available, Wolves could get a little more creative in the transfer market. The extra wages saved, coupled with the big-money fees received for Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri earlier this summer, provides Pereira with a tidy budget to work with.

Some of the funds have already been spent on winger Fer Lopez, who joined from Celta Vigo for £19.5 million, while Jorgen Strand Larsen’s £2.5 million loan - also from Celta - has turned permanent for a further £23 million.

Then there’s Fluminense winger Jhon Arias, who has joined in an £18.1 million deal after impressing at the FIFA Club World Cup. Most recently, left-back David Moller Wolfe signed from AZ Alkmaar for £9.5 million to finally fill the void left by Ait-Nouri’s departure.

More business is expected as Pereira is understood to be keen on signing a new right-back after Nelson Semedo’s exit was confirmed. Marc Pubill was considered but he joined Atletico Madrid instead, so other options must now be weighed up, perhaps including West Ham United’s Vladimir Coufal.

A new centre-back is also desired as Pereira prefers to operate with a back three and the current depth isn’t seen as sufficient. There could be more movement up front, too, as Pereira wants another out-and-out centre-forward to compete with Strand Larsen.