Wolverhampton Wanderers chairman Jeff Shi watched his team suffer a resounding 4 – 1 defeat at Villa Park on Saturday evening, before declaring Aston Villa’s and Leeds United’s complaints to the Football League as “laughable”.
Tensions between the Championship leaders and the rest of the division’s clubs rose when in the wake of his club’s 3 – 0 home defeat to Wolves, Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani took to Twitter with barely disguised bitterness,
Congratulations to the best team but hope the league can be fair and equal to all 24 teams
— Andrea Radrizzani (@andrearadri) March 7, 2018
The Italian clarified his thoughts later, confirming the essence of his original post,
I am disappointed as all our fans for our recent results but I would like to clarify here my opinion about last nights tweets which create a lot of criticism. Our performances and the request of clarification on these matter are totally different issues pic.twitter.com/qnlYa2z1sm
— Andrea Radrizzani (@andrearadri) March 8, 2018
Jorge Mendes was serenaded by visiting supporters during Wolves victory, which Radrizzani noted was “surely a first”.
But Shi claimed he is unperturbed by the claims his rivals are making, as per a report from Express and Star. “The FA and the EFL know our dealings, every transfer document, agent fees, all information is recorded in their library,” he retorted after the Villa defeat.
The Wolves chairman is confident he can avoid any problems with the authorities: “It’s easy for us to answer all the questions.”
And despite being the centre of unwanted attention, Mendes poured more oil on the Wolves fire. Italian media outlet Calciomercato reports the super-agent told AC Milan that the Black Country club are keen on taking 22-year-old Andre Silva for “a reasonable fee”.
Silva moved to the San Siro from Barcelona but he is considered an expensive flop by many observers. However, considering his potential, there is no doubt that the competition for his services will be intense.
Wolves, however, have an ace up their sleeve: Mendes is Silva’s agent.
Espirito Santo’s side find themselves seven points clear of Villa in third and face Middlesbrough, Cardiff and Derby during April, as well as the local derby against Birmingham City.
Back-to-back home games against relegation-threatened Reading and Burton Albion this week have given them some breathing space. That said, the weekend’s big game sees second-placed Cardiff City travel to Derby Country, whose grip on the promotion play-offs is slipping. Surely that will come as good news for the Wolves.