Chinese striker Wu Lei of RCD Espanyol in the La Liga game against CA Osasuna at El Sadar Stadium in Pamplona, Spain, March 8, 2020. /VCG
The rumor about Chinese striker Wu Lei transferring from La Liga's RCD Espanyol to Premier League's Wolverhampton Wanderers has gone crazily popular this week. According to multiple press outlets, including Marca, Wolves already reached out to Espanyol.
Later on Thursday, Tencent Sports reported that the top office of Espanyol denied any contact with Wolves and stressed that Wu prefers to stay with the Spanish club even if they may be relegated to Segunda División after this season.
There are reportedly three departure clauses in Wu's contract with Espanyol. The first and the cheapest is for him to return to the CSL's Shanghai SIPG at the price of two million euros (about 2.27 million U.S. dollars). About one and a half years ago, Espanyol paid the same price to bring Wu to La Liga.
Chinese striker Wu Lei of RCD Espanyol dribbles the ball in the La Liga game against CA Osasuna at El Sadar Stadium, March 8, 2020. /VCG
The other two clauses cover Wu's transfers to other European or Chinese clubs, and the cost will be higher. Since he joined Espanyol in January 2019, Wu has played 38 games for the club and started in 23 of them, scoring seven goals. Generally, the team gave him enough time in the field.
Chinese football reporter commented on Wu's transfer rumor, revealing that Wolves, as another Chinese-funded European club, can make a brilliant business decision introducing Wu. For example, Wolves can spend 10 million euros (about 11.4 million U.S. dollars) buying either Wu or a Japanese player. However, considering that there are already too many Japanese players in the European football world, it won't be a big deal.
By contrast, Wu, as the only Chinese player in the European major football leagues, can be a great help in business. The club that signs him will see not only an incredible rise in shirt sales but also more funding from Chinese brands.
Chinese striker Wu Lei of RCD Espanyol celebrates after scoring a gola in the La Liga game against Sevilla at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville, Spain, February 16, 2020. /VCG
As for Wu, who's already 28 years old, Dong said he might have already reached the hill, and there's minimal space for him to improve, which means staying in the league he's familiar with may be correct. Nonetheless, if Espanyol are relegated to Segunda División, Wu will lose a lot of attention and a big part of his market value.
Yet, on the other hand, La Liga and the Premier League have different styles. Even in the Spanish league where most teams don't go rough in defense, Wu did not like getting physical in the game. By contrast, there is no other league investing more in speed and tussling than the English top one. Even if Wu can adapt himself to the new environment, it will take a lot of twists and turns to do it.