Wolverhampton Wanderers are planning a January move for Strasbourg defender Alexander Djiku, according to Ghana Soccernet.

The lowdown

The report claims that the centre-back was close to joining Wolves in the summer, only for the deal to collapse 'at the eleventh hour'. It also notes that Bruno Lage's side failed to secure a move for West Ham United defender Craig Dawson as they unsuccessfully sought a last-ditch central defensive addition.

Significantly, the 28-year-old is out of contract at the end of this season, so Strasbourg may be inclined to sell him on the cheap in the winter.

The latest

As per Ghana Soccernet, Wolves are now lining up 'another offer' for the Ghanaian defenfer at the turn of the year.

Lage still views him as the 'ideal candidate' and has refused to give up on the transfer. Also, the player is expected to be keen on any such move, having already expressed his desire to play in the Premier League.

The verdict

Wolves could definitely do with another body at centre-half, especially one like Djiku who's in the peak years of his career. They currently have Nathan Collins, Max Kilman, Yerson Mosquera and Toti Gomes at their disposal, but it's a group which lacks experience, with their average age coming to just 22.5 years.

From that point of view, offloading Conor Coady (29) and Willy Boly (31) after Romain Saiss (32) had already left on a free transfer looks like a potential mistake.

However, they could remedy it with a move for Djiku, a modern defender who posts very high volumes of progressive passes (95th percentile among centre-backs in Europe's big five leagues) and progressive carries (81st percentile).

He has been dubbed 'outstanding' by former Ghana boss Charles Akonnor and has now racked up 18 caps for his country, so he seems like a target who's well worth a renewed pursuit.