Transfer Centre

Julen Lopetegui 'to ask Wolverhampton Wanderers to sign Real Madrid's Mariano Diaz'

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 02 November 2022

Julen Lopetegui 'to ask Wolves to sign Mariano Diaz'

Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz will reportedly emerge as a transfer target for Wolverhampton Wanderers if Julen Lopetegui arrives at Molineux as head coach.

Wolverhampton Wanderers may reportedly make an approach for Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz during the January transfer window.

The Premier League outfit have struggled for goals over the past 18 months, a situation not helped by endless issues with their strikers.

Raul Jimenez and Sasa Kalajdzic are both sidelined through injury, while Diego Costa has failed to score since arriving on a free transfer in September.

With Steve Davis currently in temporary charge, Wolves' transfer plans for the start of 2023 seemed to be up in the air, but developments over the past 48 hours appear to indicate that more stability is just around the corner.

On Tuesday, John Percy of The Telegraph reported that Julen Lopetegui was ready to take the position of head coach, just weeks after rejecting the opportunity.

Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui reacts on April 3, 2022 © Reuters

If, as expected, the former Sevilla boss moves to the West Midlands in due course, he is expected to have a certain level of freedom to make changes to his squad in January.

According to Fichajes, Lopetegui has already identified Mariano Diaz as a priority signing for the second half of the campaign.

The pair are no strangers to each other with Lopetegui in charge of Real Madrid when Los Blancos re-signed the Spanish-born forward from Lyon in 2018.

However, Diaz has failed to make a sustained impact at the Bernabeu, instead remaining in a bit-part role since Lopetegui was sacked shortly after his arrival.

Real Madrid's Mariano Diaz in action against Alaves in La Liga on November 28, 2020 © Reuters

Since returning to Real, the 29-year-old has contributed just seven goals and one assist from 63 appearances in all competitions.

Just four of those outings have come during 2022-23 with Diaz featuring for a total of just 14 minutes during that period.

With less than a year remaining on his contract, all parties are keen for a resolution which suits everyone, with that potentially coming to fruition in January.

Should Diaz not leave Real in January, he will have the opportunity to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs ahead of a free transfer in July.