Wolverhampton Wanderers have reportedly moved to re-sign defender Matt Doherty on a free transfer.
The 31-year-old endured somewhat of a frustrating 2022-23 campaign, which began at Tottenham Hotspur where he made just seven starts and five substitute outings in the Premier League.
Given the arrival of Pedro Porro, Doherty was allowed to link up with Atletico Madrid on a free transfer in January, with the Republic of Ireland international hoping that he would enjoy a new challenge in La Liga.
However, Doherty was provided with just 16 minutes of league action across two substitute appearances, both coming when games against Sevilla and Cadiz were already over as a contest.
As expected, Atletico did not look to extend Doherty's contract at the end of the season, leaving him to become a free agent and prove to be an attractive option on the market.
© Reuters
Newly-promoted Premier League teams and top-end Championship clubs have each been credited with an interest, while Doherty may have also had admirers in mainland Europe.
Nevertheless, as first reported by TEAMtalk, Wolves have moved to try to reunite themselves with one of their modern-day club legends on a free transfer.
Doherty is currently viewed as one of Wolves' best pieces of business in their history, costing an alleged £75,000 in 2010 before going on to be sold for £13.4m a decade later.
During that period, Doherty made a total of 302 appearances in all competitions, contributing 28 goals and 41 assists as well as winning League One and Championship titles.
© Reuters
Although Doherty did not transfer his Wolves form over to his stint at Spurs, he still chipped in with three goals and eight assists from 71 matches before his unproductive stint in Spain.
From Wolves' perspective, they have been generating transfer funds since the end of the season in order to ensure that they meet FFP regulations for the new campaign.
If reports are to be believed, Wolves are now back of a more solid footing, and acquiring Doherty may prove to be a shrewd piece of business.
Julen Lopetegui currently has Nelson Semedo, Jonny and Ki-Jana Hoever as right-back options at his disposal, but at least one of the latter two are likely to leave Molineux before the end of August.
