Wolves closing in on deal for Championship player with fee agreed | OneFootball

Bristol City goalkeeper Daniel Bentley is closing in on a move to Premier League side Wolves after the clubs agreed a nominal fee, according to Bristol Live.

It was first reported by Bristol Live yesterday that Wolves had expressed an interest in the 29-year-old, but a deal is now nearing completion, with Bentley expected to make the move to Molineux this week.

According to the Express and Star, Wolves are keen to bringing a new goalkeeper this month with Julen Lopetegui wanting a more experienced back-up option to Jose Sa and Bentley’s imminent arrival will now allow Matija Sarkic to depart.

Bentley has lost his place to Max O’Leary at Ashton Gate in recent months and after initially starting the season as first choice, he has not played for the Robins since early October.

There has been no shortage of suitors for Bentley’s signature, with Stoke City reportedly submitting an enquiry, but it now appears that Wolves have won the race.

Robins manager Nigel Pearson did not rule out an exit for the club captain when asked about Bentley’s future last week.

“There has been speculation about Dan’s position. How do we sit with that? We have two very good keepers at the football club,” Pearson told Bristol Live.

“Max is playing well at the moment and we’ll see how things develop. I’m not ruling anything in or out. Dan’s contract is up at the end of the season, we’ll see if anything develops.

“We can never leave ourselves short, we always need to have the right cover. For argument’s sake if something happens with Dan in the last week-and-a-half, we’d need somebody else to come in, we’re never gonna leave ourselves short.

“It’s important to have conversations with players about where they sit. Their agents can talk to the club, they can do whatever they want. I’ll talk to the players.”

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The verdict

From a Wolves perspective, this is a very sensible move.

Bentley is an experience goalkeeper who has proven himself to be a reliable and capable performer in the Championship over the years, so will be safe pair of hands should he be called upon in the top flight.

For Bentley, there are question marks over whether this is a good move as he will likely be swapping one bench for another, but the appeal of potentially playing Premier League football is evidently too good for him to turn down.

However, with Stefan Bajic also departing this month, the Robins now desperately need to bring in a new goalkeeper in the remaining week of the window with Pearson now incredibly short on depth in such a key position.