Wolves transfer news: Brazilian club ‘rejected’ £10.75m bid for Barcelona-linked starlet in April

Wolverhampton Wanderers allegedly failed with an approach for a Brazilian starlet in April.

The Premier League outfit are currently in the market for fresh faces having witnessed several key players depart Molineux since the end of the season.

Whether it is down to Vitor Pereira or club officials, a wide array of South American players have been linked with a transfer to the West Midlands.

Wolves already have a large contingent of Portuguese-speaking players, whether they are from that country or Brazilian, and it appears that they have identified a prospect from the latter.

According to SPORT, Wolves were willing to spend €12.5m (£10.75m) on Sport Recife youngster Ze Lucas when they made a bid earlier this year.

Who is Ze Lucas?

Despite being just 17 years of age, Ze Lucas has already made 17 senior appearances for Sport Recife.

Eight of those have come in the Brazilian top flight during 2025, the central midfielder accumulating 432 minutes in the division.

With a contract until 2028, Ze Lucas is tied to Sport Recife in the long term, but already earning five caps for Brazil Under-17s has put him on the radar of high-profile clubs.

The report alleges that Ze Lucas was recently offered to Barcelona in a deal that would have been worth €15m (£12.9m).

Instead, the La Liga champions turned down that opportunity, a consequence of ‘not being convinced’ by the player’s potential and preferring to focus on their own homegrown talent.

Could Wolves use Sport Recife relationship?

Wolves are no strangers to doing business with Sport Recife having signed Pedro Lima from the club 12 months ago.

If there is just a difference of £2m, there is potential for discussions to be restarted during the summer transfer window.

From Wolves’ perspective, though, they would need to have a clear pathway for Ze Lucas given that Lima has not earned the first-team football that he would have anticipated.

The right-back secured 225 minutes across six senior appearances during 2024-25 having turned down Chelsea and a loan stint with Strasbourg to move to Molineux.