Midfielder Ali Al-Musrati is unlikely to join Wolves this summer unless his price tag is lowered, journalist and BBC contributor Dave Azzopardi has claimed.

Who could Wolves sign this summer?

Julen Lopetegui's side are in need of reinforcements, having seen club captain Ruben Neves depart for Saudi Arabia among others, and have been linked with Braga midfielder Al-Musrati.

The 27-year-old is on Wolves' radar according to reports in Portugal, but may come with a big price tag.

Speaking on the Talking Wolves Podcast, Azzopardi claimed that unless the reported £21.5m fee required to land the Libyan is lowered, that the midfielder is unlikely to make the move to Molineux.

"His numbers are good, he's a good defensive midfielder, destructive midfielder and my only concern with this deal is that Braga apparently would want about €25m (£21.5m), which I think is too much for me, especially when as a Wolves fan, you're probably wanting to target Alex Scott for that amount of money," he stated.

"So I'd be very, very surprised if Wolves one, went for this deal, but two if they do go for Al Musrati, I'm sure they're going to try and chisel at least £5m-£10m off that transfer fee.

"For him, he's coming towards his late twenties now, so he's going to want to move away from Portugal and come to the Premier League, it's going to have to be now."

Should Wolves sign Al-Musrati?

The 27-year-old ranks highly among his peers for interceptions and blocks, as well as progressive passes as per FBref, and could bring a lot of quality to the Wolves midfield.

Losing both Neves and Joao Moutinho in one summer could be a big blow for Lopetegui, and multiple signings may be needed in central areas to compensate for their departures.

If the price tag does come down, Al-Musrati could help replace the technical security of Moutinho, as well as adding defensive steel to the midfield.

The experience lost between the likes of Neves and Moutinho probably cannot be replaced with just one player and especially one who has not played in England before.

However, if a deal cannot be reached for less than £25m, Wolves may have to look elsewhere. Such a high price tag for a Portuguese League player comes with a big risk, and given that Wolves also need to replace the likes of Diego Costa and Adama Traore, who departed for free, they may not be able to afford to splash out on unproven players.