Wolves complete signing of Bakary Sako
Wolves today completed the £3m-plus signing of St Etienne midfielder Bakary Sako as Stale Solbakken's revolution gathered pace.
Wolves today completed the £3m-plus signing of St Etienne midfielder Bakary Sako as Stale Solbakken's revolution gathered pace.
The 24-year-old has penned a three-year deal to become the Norwegian's most expensive capture after Wolves saw off several clubs for his signature, with Lille and Stuttgart linked with him.
Sako is the seventh arrival under Solbakken after Bjorn Sigurdarson, Frank Nouble, Tongo Doumbia, Slawomir Peszko, Georg Margreitter and Razak Boukari, but the one that has excited him the most.
The former France Under-21 international, who had one year left on his contract with the Ligue 1 club, is seen as a potentially sensational player whose arrival is the biggest signal of the club's intent to return to the Premier League as soon as possible.
Combining pace and power, left-footed Sako can operate on either wing, as an attacking midfielder or behind the striker and is looked upon as a sizeable replacement for the attacking void Wolves are seeking to fill after losing Steven Fletcher, Matt Jarvis and Michael Kightly for a combined £27m.
A former Chateauroux youth team-mate of Boukari from 2002-06, Sako scored eight times in 36 games for St Etienne last season, after seven in 38 in 2010-11 and one in 30 in 2009-10, his first season in the French top flight.
Before that he scored nine in 75 for Chateauroux over three seasons before switching to St Etienne in 2009.
Solbakken has targeted the French top flight because he said its physical nature is similar to the Championship and Sako is the third signing from Ligue 1 after Doumbia and Boukari.
It is understood Sako arrived in England with Boukari last Thursday for talks before flying back to France to decide his future.
Sako's arrival is timely with Wolves light in the creative role in central midfield following news yesterday that Jamie O'Hara is out for two months with continuing hernia problems.
Solbakken is expected to continue his overhaul of his squad with more signings before the transfer deadline shuts at midnight on Friday.
