Wolves hunting glory as Chinese owners follow scent of success

Agent of change

Correspondence that came to light in the Football Leaks disclosures showed the pivotal role played by Mendes. One email from Wolves executive chairman Jeff Shi to Mendes' Gestifute agency said: "You always know the reason for the investment of Wolves is mainly because of our bet and trust on Jorge."

Premier League clubs spent more than 260 million pounds ($336 million) alone on agent fees in the 2018-19 season, accelerating calls for a crackdown on that expenditure.

However, for fans who have lived through the hard times, hooking up with Mendes is a price well worth playing to chase the Champions League dream.

"Ninety-five percent of the players we have had from him have been fantastic successes, so we can't argue with that," said Evans.

"If you've got the option of tapping into the little black book of Jorge Mendes and his stockpile, why wouldn't you do that?

"I'm sure other teams in the Premier League, if they had the option to utilize a relationship with someone like Mendes, they would."

AFP