Wolves’ hopes of signing Marcos Acuna in January have seemingly taken a blow, with reports suggesting that he will remain with the La Liga side due to injury issues in Jorge Sampaoli’s squad.

What’s the word?

It was originally suggested that the Argentina international was surplus to requirements at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium and would be free to complete a £12 move to Molineux next month, where he would reunite with his former manager, Julen Lopetegui.

The Spaniard openly admitted that he wanted to bring the Argentine to Wolves in a recent press conference, saying:

“We are opening up different options because the reality is that we have to reinforce the team in different positions. (Acuna) is a player that I like. But we will see what happens.”

Despite some impressive performances at the World Cup, where he has helped Argentina reach the final in Qatar, it seemed as if the 31-year-old would be easily available for the Old Gold in January, and he could have added some experience to an otherwise youthful defence.

However, those hopes have now seemingly been scuppered after fellow Sevilla left-back Alex Telles picked up an injury with Brazil in Qatar, with Marca reporting that Acuna will be restored to the starting 11 under Sampaoli and perhaps will not be allowed to depart in the winter transfer window.

Bad news for Lopetegui?

While Lopetegui is well stocked at left-back, with Jonny Otto, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hugo Bueno all capable in that position, Acuna’s experience could have been vital in helping turn Wolves’ season around.

Jonny’s form has seriously declined this season, as the Spaniard has averaged a shocking 6.55 rating from WhoScored for his Premier League performances, compared to 6.75 last year.

Bueno and Ait-Nouri both have promise but it would be a risk to trust two youngsters with relatively little Premier League experience to be the starting left-back for the rest of the campaign, especially given how poor Wolves have been defensively, conceding 24 league goals already.

Acuna has experience playing at the very top, and could definitely feature in this weekend’s World Cup final, while Lopetegui already knows he can trust him from his time at Sevilla.

During his time with Sporting Lisbon, the versatile defender was described as “one of the best in the world” which suggests that he would have been an eye-catching addition at Molineux, considering Wolves are currently propping up the Premier League table.

Acuna’s 6.90 average rating from WhoScored at the World Cup is better than every player in Wolves’ squad bar Ruben Neves in the Premier League, which shows just how good he can be when playing against some of the best in the world.

Consequently, it is undoubtedly bad news for Lopetegui if he remains with Sevilla in January.