Done deal: Wolves confirm £17m Daniel Podence signing
Wolves have confirmed the £17million signing of Portuguese winger Daniel Podence on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
The 24-year-old arrives from Greek club Olympiakos and is the third most expensive signing in the club's history, behind Raul Jimenez (£32m) and Adama Traore (£18m).
He takes the No.10 shirt which was recently vacated by Patrick Cutrone and is available for Saturday's game at Manchester United.
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And on coming to Molineux, Podence said: "I’m very excited. It was always a childhood dream of mine to play in the Premier League and I look at this achievement as a dream come true.
"Wolves are a team with a big project, with ambitious goals to look forward to, where I’ll get to meet former team-mates with whom I had the pleasure to play with in the past and I hope to be very successful here.”
Podence played with Wolves keeper Rui Patricio at Sporting Lisbon, and with Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota with Portugal's under-21s.
"That was one of the reasons I chose Wolverhampton. Of course, I spoke with Rui (Patricio), but I also know Ruben (Neves), (Diogo) Jota and (Joao) Moutinho very well," he said.
“I think that’s going to be a big help for me to adapt to English football, which is challenging and it’s really good to have well known faces around.”
Podence is excited to work under compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo, too.
"It’s my first experience with this manager, but obviously, being Portuguese, with him knowing me and me knowing his work that obviously weighed in me making this decision," said Podence.
"The club’s evolution over the last years has been evident to people all over the world.
"The first few times I’ve heard about Wolverhampton was from the time Silas was playing here, around the 2000s I think, but now there’s not even a comparison to be made, it’s a much bigger club with very big aspirations.”
Speaking of aspirations, Podence – who describes himself as a fast, virtuoso and objective player – added: "My individual goals are to play as much as possible, help the team with goals and assists and collectively, I’d like to qualify for the Champions League.
"That is a goal that’s within our reach, and I hope we can have a better season than last year.”
