Wolverhampton Wanderers moved swiftly to complete the signing of Portuguese World Cup star Rui Patricio, according to the Express and Star.
The 70-times capped international terminated his contract with Sporting Clube following a dispute with the club president. That quickly escalated into 50 armed fans invading the training ground and attacking players after the club missed out on Champions League football next season.
To that point, Sporting were Patricio’s only club, but next season he will occupy the Wolves number one shirt as the Old Gold returns to the Premier League.
Wolves were previously in talks with Sporting regarding the goalkeeper who was a pivotal member of Portugal’s 2016 European Championship-winning squad.
It’s believed that the Black Country club may end up paying Sporting training compensation, but this is unlikely to be close to the £18m fee the two clubs were discussing.
It’s understood six other Sporting players also terminated their contracts, including William Carvalho who continues to be linked with a move to West Ham.
30-year-old Patricio is represented by Jorge Mendes, the agent whose ties to the club caused promotion rivals to lodge a complaint with the English Football League last season. While the governing body saw no discrepancies in the dealings, how long before Premier League clubs make the same complaints?
