Wolves close to signing Barcelona's Nélson Semedo after £34.8m bid

<span>Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock</span>
Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

Wolves are close to signing the Barcelona defender Nélson Semedo, having made a bid of €38m (£34.8m) for the Portugal international.

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The Wolves manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, sees the 26-year-old as the perfect replacement for Matt Doherty, who joined Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the summer. Wolves have also sold Diogo Jota to Liverpool for £41m.

The new Barcelona manager, Ronald Koeman, is trying to overhaul his squad after a traumatic summer in which Lionel Messi said he wanted to leave but in the end stayed to avoid ‘a legal dispute’ with the club he has been with since 2001. It is believed that Barcelona are holding out for €40m for Semedo but there is confidence on all sides that a deal can be struck.

The Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal is set to join Inter for a fee of €1m. The 33-year-old Chilean is set to sign a two-year contract with the Serie A club.