Wolves have made Stade de Reims central defender and captain Emmanuel Agbadou their first signing under Vitor Pereira.
The Ivory Coast international, who joins on a four-and-a-half-year deal which contains an additional 12-month option, moves having spent the past two-and-a-half seasons playing consistently in Ligue 1.
A dominant defender standing at 6ft 4, but also comfortable in possession, Agbadou began his professional career in Tunisia with Monastir, before turning out 64 times in the Belgian Pro League with Eupen.
It was in France where the now 27-year-old’s career trajectory continued, and having been a regular for the past two seasons, Agbadou took the Reims captaincy responsibilities in the summer.
Welcome to Wolves, Emmanuel Agbadou! ✍️ pic.twitter.com/O0R8w6YWlq
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 9, 2025
Recognition from Ivory Coast increased during his time in northern France and this season he’s started in five of their six Africa Cup of Nations fixtures, as his country qualified for the major tournament later this calendar year.
Having been an ever-present for Reims this term, making 15 appearances, Agbadou bowed out with back-to-back clean sheets against Strasbourg and Monaco in December, before completing his move to Molineux.
Chairman Jeff Shi said: “We’re delighted to welcome Emmanuel to the club. He’s a player our recruitment team have watched for a long time and Vitor agreed that he was the right player and the right character to strengthen our squad now.
“It was important we completed the transfer early in the window to help Vitor straight away, and, like all transfers, this one took a lot of hard work from a lot of people. I hope Emmanuel has a successful career at Wolves, and he’ll have the full support of everyone during his time here.”
Sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “Emmanuel’s a winner and he's driven. After the journey’s had, he's still unbelievably hungry. He’s the type of player the Wolves fans should love, because you're going to get absolutely everything he's got.
“On paper, he should suit the Premier League. There's plenty of ticks there. Obviously, you've always got the settling in period, and it is the hardest league in the world, so it can take time, but he can fall back on his key attributes being akin to the Premier League.
“The fact that he was on ours and Vitor’s lists shows that he's well rounded, good on the ball, physically excellent, quick and a good personality. Then being made captain of Reims has really taken his game to the next level, and you can never have enough leaders.
“When Vitor came in it’s the first conversation we had, to add one quick. There are so many games in January, so you can't afford to waste a month. We have to use this month to be as efficient as possible, and we’re really excited about this signing.”
