Wolves transfer news: Reims defender Emmanuel Agbadou signs in £16.6m deal

Upon arriving at Molineux in December, new head coach Vitor Pereira made it clear that he was eager to sign at least one new-centre-back during the January transfer window.

That led to the Wolves' recruitment team quickly setting about trying to acquire the services of Agbadou, who has impressed during his stint in Ligue 1.

Although the deal has been in the offing for over a week, it took until Wednesday evening for visa issues to be resolved, allowing the Ivory Coast international to finally fly to the West Midlands.

On Thursday morning, Wolves confirmed that they had signed the 27-year-old on a four-and-a-half year contract for a reported £16.6m fee.

What have Wolves had to say?

Chairman Jeff Shi - who has been constantly criticised for Fosun International's recent approach in the transfer market - has commented on the importance of getting a deal completed for Agbadou.

He said: "We're delighted to welcome Emmanuel to the club. He's a player our recruitment team have watched for a long time and Vitor agreed that he was the right player and the right character to strengthen our squad now.

"It was important we completed the transfer early in the window to help Vitor straight away, and, like all transfers, this one took a lot of hard work from a lot of people. I hope Emmanuel has a successful career at Wolves, and he'll have the full support of everyone during his time here."

Sporting director Matt Hobbs added: "On paper, he should suit the Premier League. There's plenty of ticks there. Obviously, you've always got the settling in period, and it is the hardest league in the world, so it can take time, but he can fall back on his key attributes being akin to the Premier League.

"The fact that he was on ours and Vitor's lists shows that he's well rounded, good on the ball, physically excellent, quick and a good personality. Then being made captain of Reims has really taken his game to the next level, and you can never have enough leaders."

Agbadou's career path

Agbadou arrives at Wolves having spent the last four years representing Reims and, prior to that, Belgian side Eupen.

Nine goals and six assists have come from a combined total of 144 appearances, Agbadou departing Reims with 75 Ligue 1 outings to his name.

He captained Reims on 10 of his 14 such appearances during 2024-25, including during a 1-1 draw at home to Paris Saint-Germain in September.

Pereira must now decide whether to include Agbadou in his plans for Saturday's FA Cup tie at Bristol City prior to the trip to face Newcastle United in the Premier League four days later.

Written by

Darren Plant