Wolves see European giants 'walk away' from negotiations as 'joke of a club' claim made

Wolverhampton Wanderers saw a setback in their mini revival on Saturday as they were beaten 2-0 at Manchester City to suffer their first defeat in six matches.

It was by no means an embarrassing performance or result against one of the Premier League’s title challengers and represented a first defeat in any competition since December 27, during which time they have earnt draws against Manchester United, Everton and Newcastle and beaten West Ham and Shrewsbury in the cup.

There is still a long way to go before the greatest of escapes becomes a genuine possibility, but Wanderers have at least shown an improvement in performances and results under Rob Edwards which will give supporters some dignity heading into the final months of the season. Wolves will hope to have a strong remainder of their January transfer window in order to give themselves the best possible chance of staying up.

Besiktas to ‘walk away’ from Agbadou after talks hit impasse

According to reports by Sport Witness, Besiktas may be set to ‘walk away’ from negotiations over a deal for Emmanuel Agbadou after an issue in valuation between the two clubs ‘upset’ the Turkish giants and sections of their local sports media.

Previous reports earlier this week stated that a £10 million deal had been ‘agreed’ for the centre-back to depart Molineux, after Besiktas turned their attention to Agbadou despite his regular role in the Old Gold backline before AFCON.

But both player and club ‘opened up’ to a move, with the player and his agent spotted at Istanbul airport on January 16. However, reporting continues that Wolves raised their price from €14m (£12m) to €17m (£14.7m). Murat Özen, a member of Besiktas Club Congress, claimed Wolves were ‘getting annoying’ after ‘constantly raising’ their asking price ‘on a whim’, then negotiations between the clubs appeared to hit a major snag on Friday evening.

Turkish football journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu reported on X: “They agreed to €17m, then they said Beşiktaş should pay the approximately €1m ‘FIFA solidarity contribution fee’. Wolves are a joke of a club.”

As a result, it appears that Besiktas have ‘walked away’ from negotiations for now according to reports. It remains to be seen whether the two clubs will return to talks over a transfer for Agbadou over the coming days, amid further reports by BBC Sport that Wolves are holding out for £17m.

What Edwards said on Agbadou and the Man City defeat

Wolves head coach Rob Edwards confirmed ahead of the weekend that reports are “entirely untrue” that Agbadou is refusing to play for the club, with the player included in the matchday squad to travel to the Etihad. Though he was not introduced from the bench.

Edwards told BBC Match of the Day after the final whistle: "The timing of the two goals didn't help. That made it a difficult start for us. Coming here they can starve you and suffocate. We kept fighting in the second half and we were really pushing to get back into the game. There was a lot of things to take from there but ultimately it was a loss.

"They got the two goals but ultimately, we limited them to very little. We are going up against one of the best teams and away from home as well. We pushed right towards the end. We showed a lot of good character and quality as well."