Wolverhampton Wanderers are reportedly interested in acquiring the services of Paraguayan striker Antonio Sanabria this summer transfer window.
Wolves transfer news – Could they sign Antonio Sanabria?
According to Torino Granata (via Sport Witness), the Midlands outfit are amongst several English sides interested in the 27-year-old striker, including top-flight rivals Everton and Crystal Palace.
Torino are reportedly already negotiating a deal with Palace for their misfiring forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, and, therefore, there is the potential that the club can use him as a way to sweeten the deal.
However, the report mentions that the Turin-based side would prefer to sell their asset for cash, with a fee set at an initial €25m (£21m), but they 'will sell' for just €20m (£17m) if they need to.
With Wolves' lack of goals this season, just 31 in 38 games, ownership group Fosun shouldn't delay on sealing this deal.
Could Antonio Sanabria be Julen Lopetegui's own Dusan Vlahovic?
That isn't just a question because they are both strong forwards playing in the same league and the same city, for that matter.
Instead, it's FBref, who have highlighted the striking similarities in both players' games, ranking the Serbian as the third most similar player to Sanabria right now.
The first and perhaps most surface-level similarities between the players are their goal tallies and expected goals. The Torino man has netted 12 times from an xG of just 9.7, and the Juventus forward has found the back of the net 10 times with a similar xG of 9.7.
Their shooting statistics are, again, very similar.
According to FBref, the Paraguayan has 0.89 shots on target per 90 compared to the former Fiorentina man's 0.93. Interestingly, the distance from where they shoot is also remarkably similar, with the 27-year-old shooting from an average distance of 13.5 yards and the 23-year-old from 15.5, per FBref.
An area that both players need to improve is their defensive contribution. Throughout their entire campaigns last season, both players put in just 11 tackles, with neither one winning more than half of them.
That said, with the dire attacking situation at Molineux, Julen Lopetegui shouldn't be worrying too much about a striker's potential defensive contribution.
Outside the comparison to cross-city rival, Sanabria is a great player in his own right, once being described by the legendary Francesco Totti as "a player that can offer brilliance, and in the last 30 metres that can make all the difference" – high praise indeed.
Across his 28 starts in Serie A this season, the San Lorenzo-born forward has averaged a good rating of 6.82, according to WhoScored.
If Wolves are able to get this deal done, they should certainly do so. For as low as £17m, Lopetegui could well and truly have his own bargain Vlahovic at Molineux.