Who is Emmanuel Agbadou? The Stade Reims defender set for January move to Wolves

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Expert insight 

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Wolves are set to kick off their January transfer window with the signing of Stade Reims central defender Emmanuel Agbadou. According to the Athletic, the Premier League club have agreed a fee of €18 million plus an additional €2m in add-ons for the 27-year-old Ligue 1 talent and following a successful work permit application the player will make the move to Molineux on a four-and-a-half year deal, with an option to extend it by a further 12 months. But who is Agbadou and can he help Wolves pull themselves out of their current rut near the bottom of the league table? 

How good is Emmanuel Agbadou? 

Agbadou made the move to Reims in the summer of 2022 when the French club signed him from KAS Eupen for €2.6m and since then he has been a regular starter for the mid-table club. Over the course of the last two and a half years, Agbadou’s market value has risen steadily from €2.5m to where it now stands at €10m, which would suggest that Wolves may be slightly over-paying for the 27-year-old central defender. And when we take a closer look at his reputation in France, it would suggest that the Premier League side may be picking up a player that is readily available, rather than one that is top of their wishlist. “Agbadou is one of the most sellable players at Stade de Reims,” noted Transfermarkt Ligue 1 expert Joachim Durand when asked why the Ligue 1 side seem to be fairly content with selling their first-choice central defender. “For several years now, numerous clubs have been interested in him and he’s been on the verge of leaving without ever materialising. I think the time is right, before his value plummets because of his age.” Indeed, Wolves will be looking for a ready-made player that can slot straight into Vítor Pereira’s team, rather than signing a prospect that will take months or even years to get up to speed with the physical demands of the Premier League. And, here, Agbadou may prove to be a smart signing for Wolves. 

Rumour

E. Agbadou

Centre-Back

Stade Reims		95 %		Wolves
Ligue 1				Premier League

“Agbadou is renowned for his strength and solidity in one-on-one situations, but he is also a defender who is comfortable on the ball, added Durand. “He is capable of dribbling with the ball to break up opposing lines. That’s why he sometimes plays as a midfielder.” Such attributes will likely be welcomed at Molineux, where Wolves are still reeling from the sale of ball-playing central defender Maximilian Kilman to West Ham in the summer transfer window. In Agbadou, the club may be signing a player that can comfortably dribble with the ball and make the passes needed to get the team up the park. And there’s little doubt that the Reims start can also handle the physicality that comes with being a defender in the Premier League. “I think his qualities are perfectly suited to the Premier League,” said Durand when asked if Agbadou is ready for a move to England. However, there are some aspects of the player’s game that Pereira may have to work on in the months ahead. “It should be noted that he is already 27 years old,” added Durand. “He’s not a young talent, and his room for improvement is limited. Even if he has made progress in this area in recent years, he still needs to improve his concentration and reduce his carelessness.” 

Why are Wolves signing Emmanuel Agbadou?

As previously noted, the sale of Kilman to West Ham in the summer has largely been pinpointed as where Wolves’ problems truly begun this season and following a serious ACL injury to central defender Yerson Mosquera, it became abundantly clear that the Premier League club would likely need to sign a central defender in the January transfer window. When we couple that with the fact that new manager Pereira has favoured a back three in defence since making the move to the English club and that the club have so far shipped 42 goals in 19 league games this season, it means that Wolves only have three central defenders for three central defender positions in the starting XI and not a huge amount of confidence in any of them. As such, not only is the signing of Agbadou seen as a necessity but it may be followed by even more defensive additions in the coming weeks.