Wolves are set to have an incredibly busy first summer under the stewardship of Bruno Lage.
He has already confirmed two new signings and another could be on their way to Molineux if Rayan Ait-Nouri agrees to move.
Trincao is the marquee addition so far but the Old Gold cannot stop their recruitment now.
On the chalkboard
One player who looks destined to leave Molineux this summer is Rui Patricio.
The Portuguese was one of Nuno Santo’s favourite players at Wolves, missing just two league games during their working relationship.
They haven’t been pushing to lose the 33-year-old but were willing to let him depart if a sensible move came in.
Jose Mourinho’s new side Roma are believed to be closing in on Patricio’s signature but it would leave Lage’s squad rather bare between the posts.
Andreas Sondergaard is still developing as a young goalkeeper while John Ruddy, despite his cries for more football, is still likely to play second fiddle.
The solution
Wolves have been linked with a number of goalkeepers since the fear of Patricio leaving first emerged.
Leicester stopper Danny Ward appears to be an option while Jose Sa has also been considered.
[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-wolves-transfer-news-ceballos-zinchenko-euros-felix-lage” title=”Read the latest Wolves transfer news!”]
However, the perfect replacement could lie in Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
The 26-year-old currently plays for Dinamo Zagreb in his homeland and starred for his national team at the ongoing European Championships. Since then, he’s been linked with a switch to the Midlands.
He may have conceded five goals to Spain but his overall play looked comfortable. Capped 25 times by his country, it’s at club level where he’s really excelled.
Praised by the great Iker Casillas, the ‘keeper has also earned plenty of accolades from top voices in Croatia.
“He is definitely one of the best goalkeepers in the world,” said Nenad Bjelica. Meanwhile, Zeljko Petrovic commented: “Goalkeeper Livakovic is fantastic, undoubtedly one of the best in Europe.”
It’s not hard to see why either. The 6 foot 2 colossus ranks as one of the most impressive on the entire continent.
According to FB Ref, Livakovic ranks in the 99th percentile for post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed. That sounds like a mouthful but essentially, the higher the number the better you are at stopping shots.
The Croat’s save percentage is also staggering at a remarkable 83.7%. Once again, that puts him in the 99th percentile for that category.
His clean sheet rate of 54.5% once more puts him in the 99th percentile of goalkeepers in Europe. Furthermore, at 59 yards, he is in the 89th percentile for the average length of goal kicks.
With all of that in mind, he’d be the ideal replacement for Patricio this summer. Lage must ensure that Livakovic is his new main man in 2021/22.
AND in other news, Wolves plot swoop for “unbelievable” £10m gem, he’s an upgrade on Ait-Nouri…