Wolves are interested in signing Olympiakos and Senegal defender Pape Abou Cisse, according to reports from Greece.
According to Greek publication SDNA, the 23-year-old is a target for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side as the manager seeks to add to his squad ahead of a season which will involve European as well as domestic commitments.
Wolves aren’t the only Premier League club being linked with the defender – 90min.com reported this week that Arsenal were also interested in Cisse and believe that they could sign him for just £10million.
Cisse has been playing with Olympiakos for the last two seasons, scoring six goals in 50 games for the club.
At 6 ft 7 (1.97m), he is a towering centre-back who unsurprisingly is very strong in the air – four of his seven career goals have been headers.
In seven Europa League matches for Olympiakos last season, he averaged 1.3 tackles and an impressive 2.3 interceptions per game, in addition to winning 2.3 aerial duels per match.
Also, as acknowledged by Danny Owen for HITC, the Senegal international is familiar with playing in a back three, the same setup that Nuno prefers at Wolves.
One of Cisse’s team-mates and fellow centre-backs at Olympiakos in 2018/19 was Roderick Miranda, who was on loan at the club from Wolves.
While Cisse was a regular in Pedro Martins’ line-up last season, featuring in 19 of 30 Super League games, Miranda struggled for gametime with only eight league appearances.
The 28-year-old Portuguese made just 20 appearances in all competitions for the Greek club last season and failed to score.
His averages of two interceptions and two successful aerial duels per game were solid but still inferior to Cisse’s. However, he had the edge on the Senegal man in one key area, with Miranda averaging 1.5 tackles per game.
Nuno’s preferred back three last season consisted of Willy Boly, Conor Coady and Ryan Bennett and, with Wolves using the joint-fewest players of any club in the Premier League last season (21), this suggests that the manager knows (and is loyal to) his first choice XI more than most.
Therefore, Cisse might not slip straight into the starting line-up if he signed for Wolves, but his arrival could make it even more difficult for Miranda to forge his way into the team.
With Nuno telling Sky Sports News this week that there is an “obvious” need to add to his squad, the 23-year-old Senegal powerhouse should be an ideal boost to their defensive options, as last season suggests that he would be a stronger alternative than Miranda.
Also, Cisse’s familiarity with playing in a three-man backline should enable him to bed in quickly at Molineux when called upon.
Wolves fans, do you think the potential arrival of Cisse would enhance the squad? Comment below with your views!
