Nottingham Forest and Newcastle join Wolves in pursuit of highly-rated Italy U21 star after failed summer bid

Wolverhampton Wanderers have set their sights on signing talented Burnley winger Luca Koleosho, according to reports.

Manager Gary O’Neil is keen to inject further flair into his squad after the departure of fan favourite Pedro Neto to Chelsea and sees Koleosho as the type of profile that would benefit his team in this year’s relegation battle.

Koleosho moved from the USA to Spain when he was 12-years-old and joined the Espanyol academy four years later in 2020. He represented the La Liga side on five occasions, netting one goal - and showcased his potential during the U19 European Championship by helping Italy to glory against pre-tournament favourites Portugal in the final.

The youngster caught the eye of Vincent Kompany’s Burnley in the summer of 2023 and joined the Clarets in a deal worth just £2.6m. He played just 15 times in the Premier League last season, registering one goal and one assists and was unable to prevent his team from suffering relegation to the second tier.

Despite Burnley’s eventual relegation, his performances earned him attention from Wolves throughout the summer. According to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Wolves made an offer of £25m to try and bring Koleosho to the West Midlands on deadline day, but the Clarets did not want to negotiate, which apparently upset the player at the time.

Koleosho has enjoyed a strong start to the campaign with two goals from his opening five Championship appearances and was the star of the show in a crucial away victory against promotion favourites Leeds United as he sprinted 70 yards before drilling a low shot past Illan Meslier to win his side the game.

His tremendous start to the campaign has prompted Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest to also keep tabs on Koleosho. His manager Scott Parker describes the interest as inevitable but is determined to keep him at Turf Moor.

“There’s no denying there was that speculation there, which you’d expect for a young talent like Luca,” said Parker to the Burnley Express.

“When you’re a team coming out of the Premier League, you’re always going to be vulnerable for that and we saw that first-hand in terms of what happened here at the start of the season.”

Parker added: “This is a boy that stays focused, stayed on track and is reaping the rewards of that now in terms of his performances.”

“I’ve been really impressed with him.”

Football Insider understands that Burnley value Koleosho at around £40m after moving quickly to tie him down to a five-year-contract.

Wolves remain keen to bring the Burnley star to the club and could make a fresh approach in January to try to secure his services.