Wu Lei Speaks Up About Transfer Rumors: “Our Talents are Recognized by People”

Following days of rumors speculating Chinese striker Wu Lei to be transferred to the English Premier League next season, the Chinese striker finally responded. In his weekly journal, Wu Lei talked about the latest transfer rumors not only about himself but also about some of his fellow teammates.

The Espanyol striker published his weekly journal via the La Liga club’s official Weibo account in China. In the 56th journal that the 28-year-old striker recorded, Wu Lei talked about Espanyol’s recent games, the latest developments of the La Liga tournaments, and the rumors speculating his moves at the end of the season.

Pandaily reported earlier that English Premier League team Wolverhampton Wanderers expressed interest in the Chinese national and is planning to offer him an opportunity to suit up for the English football club in the upcoming reason. The speculation received media attention as Espanyol struggles in the 2019-2020 La Liga season. Currently ranked 19th, Espanyol only has 24 points after 29 games. The Barcelona based football club is still 3 points short of the safety zone with 9 games left in the top-level Spanish football tournament. Despite this, Wu Lei shows no intention of joining the Wolves at this point and prefers to stay with the La Liga team Espanyol regardless of the team’s status at the end of the season. Many believe that the Chinese strike can change his stance on the issue if Espanyol ends up being relegated to the second-level league in Spain.

Turkish football club Beşiktaş J.K also had some interest in signing Wu Lei to boost its influence and popularity in China.

Wu Lei responded to those speculations by sharing the team’s locker room conversations with the public. “In fact, there are many rumors on the Internet before the game. They are about players on the team, including me, transferring to other teams.” Wu Lei acknowledged the issue in his weekly journal: “We joked about it, saying that media outlets have already sold half of the team. But on the other hand, this shows that our talents are recognized by people.”

SEE ALSO: Wu Lei’s Decisive Goal Helps Espanyol Secure a Much-Needed Victory

Despite having mediocre performances prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Espanyol has bounced back in its recent two games. The Catalan region-based team defeated Alaves last Saturday with a score of 2-0 and secured one critical point in the game against Getafe with only 10 players on the pitch after the 16th minute. Wu Lei played both games and scored the second goal in the match against Alaves. The Chinese striker has scored a total of four goals for La Liga in the 2019-2020 season thus far.

“In addition to the points we earned from those two matches, it is more important that our team picked up our confidence. From our performances on the pitch, the team’s synergy is at an all-time high. Right now, everyone on the team is thinking about giving their best to fight for possessions and win points from the games,” Wu Lei said in his journal.

The Chinese striker also acknowledged the enthusiasm from the Espanyol fans despite facing the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic: “Even though the games are played without any spectators in the stadium, I can still see loyal fans cheering for us from a long distance outside of the stadium. I am touched by their emotions, especially in these special circumstances. Just like the number 12 jersey we put in the stadium, they are always the 12th man on the team and are always fighting together with us.”

Espanyol will play against Levante this Saturday at home. Following its game against Real Betis next Thursday, Espanyol will take on Real Madrid on June 28. On July 8, Espanyol will face their 2nd Barcelona derby game this reason against F.C Barcelona. In the previous game against F.C Barcelona, Wu Lei scored a last-minute goal to help his team finish with a 2-2 draw against the top-ranked La Liga leader.