How Evangelos Marinakis feels about £12m Wolves transfer offer | OneFootball

Wolves have made a £12m offering for an Olympiacos forward - and the thoughts of Evangelos Marinakis have become clearer

The summer transfer window has already kick-started in headline-making fashion after returning to the Championship for the first time since 2018, with no shortage of action taking place at Molineux in recent weeks.

Wolves had already secured the eye-catching signings of ex-England international Kieran Trippier and, of course, the emphatic return of Old Gold icon Raul Jimenez - who has only gone on to vindicate the club's decision to bring his services back to the Black Country with three goals for Mexico at this summer's World Cup - when they decided to part ways with Rob Edwards.

The former Luton Town and Middlesbrough boss was widely expected to stick around and direct Wolves' promotion charge in the 2026/27 campaign following relegation, although a sudden twist saw the 43-year-old relieved of his duties and replaced by Cesar Peixoto in the Molineux dugout.

It was a change that precious few anticipated, and will perhaps leave additional scrutiny on the shoulders of the Portuguese manager as he prepares to oversee the remainder of Wolves' summer window as a squad rebuilding process heads underway.

Further incomings and outgoings will only be inevitable in the coming weeks ahead of the club's Championship curtain-raiser at home to Blackburn Rovers in five weeks' time, and with the new campaign edging ever closer, more deals are being explored by the second-tier promotion hopefuls.

Evangelos Marinakis reacts to £12m Wolves transfer offer

Peixoto is yet to complete a signing since replacing Edwards, but that's something that the ex-Moreirense and Gil Vicente figure is actively working on as he bids to build the squad in his own ideas.

That has led Wolves to pursue a move for Olympiacos wide-man Andre Luiz, according to a recent report from Greek outlet Sportime. It's said that Wolves have amped up their interest by submitting a €14 million (£11.9 million) bid, although this advance has proved unsuccessful.

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The report adds that Wolves will need to increase their offering in order to land Luiz's signature, with Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis believed to feel that the present proposal doesn't accurately reflect the 24-year-old's value on the market.

Known to drive a hard bargain, the Nottingham Forest chief has seemingly made his thoughts clear to Wolves, although it remains unclear exactly how the Championship side will respond and whether they will return to the Greek giants with a more serious offer.

Luiz is under contract in Athens until 2030, having only signed for the club from Rio Ave earlier this year.

The Brazilian spent two-and-a-half seasons in Portugal's top-flight after initially joining Estrea da Amadora from Flamengo back in 2023, and enjoyed his finest form during the opening stages of the previous term when he registered seven goals and five assists in just 19 appearances for Rio Ave.

Peixoto will likely be aware of Luiz from his time managing in Liga Portugal, although the wide-man has struggled for form since moving to Olympiacos, having failed to open his account for either goals or assists from 10 matches to date.

Wolves could find better value elsewhere amid £12m transfer setback

It's no surprise to see Wolves shopping for recruits with a body of work in the top-flight of Portuguese football, but they have sometimes found themselves paying over the odds for those particular deals - despite undoubted successes along the way - and it's hard to feel that Luiz wouldn't represent an extremely risky gamble if the Old Gold were to meet Marinakis' demands.

The one-time Flamengo prospect endured mixed fortunes for large parts of his time in Liga Portugal before shining in the first-half of last season, but he's been unable to make any sort of impact in Greece to date and there would have to be question marks about how well he could adapt to the overall higher quality of the Championship, especially in light of Wolves' intentions to ensure their return to the second-tier is a brief one.

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Olympiacos deem Wolves' £12 million offer to be too low, and on the face of it, that bid would already appear rather handsome indeed for a player who has struggled for a consistent impact in divisions widely viewed as a lower general standard than the one that the Old Gold are trying to recruit him for.

There's plenty of great value to be found elsewhere on the continent as well as closer to home in the EFL, but this one feels like a potential expensive mistake that Wolves need to avoid after pulling off impressive free transfer coups to land both Trippier and Jimenez.