Wolverhampton Wanderers executive chairman Jeff Shi has revealed that he intends to keep Helder Costa at Molineux for at least another 12 months.
After impressing during the first half of last season, Wolves paid a club-record fee to convert his loan spell into a permanent stay, but that has not stopped him being linked with the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal.
However, Shi - who has just relocated from China to the West Midlands - has acknowledged that Wolves will be able to make a stronger bid for promotion if they keep the Portuguese winger.
"Helder is my boy. I don't want to see him go. Whether my career is successful here with Wolves is bonded very tightly with whether Helder's career is successful, so we want to keep him," he told the club's official website.
"For this season he cannot go – that is my view. He is so important for the squad. He has spent one year here and it is important for him to go to the Premier League together with us.
"Of course there is strong interest from other clubs but my job is to keep him and I think he will stay."
Costa scored a total of 11 goals from 45 appearances in all competitions during the last campaign.
Darren Plant
