Wolverhampton Wanderers have announced the signing of Stuttgart forward Sasa Kalajdzic.
After allowing Fabio Silva to move on loan to Anderlecht, head coach Bruno Lage has openly admitted for a number of weeks that he has been eager to sign a player who can compete with Raul Jimenez for a starting place.
Although a number of players have been linked with a switch to Molineux, it became apparent last week that the Premier League outfit had identified Kalajdzic as their number one target.
With the Austria international having less than 12 months left on his contract, Wolves and Stuttgart have spent a number of days attempting to successfully negotiate a fee for the 6ft 7in frontman.
Wolves have now confirmed that they have completed the signing of the 25-year-old, subject to securing a visa and work permit.
We've #SignedSaša!
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 31, 2022
🐺✍️ pic.twitter.com/OsVwRSUfNS
While Wolves have not disclosed a fee, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano says that a proposal worth €18m (£15.45m) plus add-ons was agreed between the two teams.
Speaking to the club's official website, Kalajdzic said: "I'm happy it's all been finished today. It was a long, tough day, but in the end everything went well. I'm really thankful and really happy to be here. It was the club that wanted me the most in the end. In my career, at my age, it's important to feel where the next step is and, in the end, I had the feeling Wolverhampton is the best step for my development.
"I had good talks with the coaches, and I met some players from the team. Everyone was so kind and so nice. I know that I won't regret my decision because the people were all so kind, they welcomed me and I'm looking forward to playing as soon as possible."
Kalajdzic is not eligible to feature against Bournemouth on Wednesday evening, but Wolves will hope that the necessary paperwork is completed ahead of Saturday's Premier League fixture against Southampton.
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Having witnessed his Wolves side score just twice in four league fixtures this season, Lage will expect Kalajdzic to add more of a cutting edge to his attack.
In three years at Stuttgart, he contributed 24 goals and 12 assists from 60 appearances, 16 of those strikes coming in the Bundesliga in 2020-21.
A shoulder injury restricted Kalajdzic to just 15 outings last season, but he contributed three assists in as many outings during this campaign before sealing his transfer to Wolves.
On the international scene, Kalajdzic, who was linked with Manchester United and Bayern Munich earlier this summer, has chipped in with four goals from 15 matches, one of those efforts coming against Italy in the last 16 of Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium.
Darren Plant
