Wolves sign Colombia winger Arias for £15m

Initial payment of £15 million has been made by Wolves for Colombia international Jhon Arias.

Additional £4 million in add-ons, including European qualification, are included in the agreement.

The 27-year-old winger signs a four-year contract with the option of extending it for another 12 months.

Arias can play both left and right, but he is not intended to replace Cunha directly.

Arias will reunite with Wolves midfielder Andre, who he played with at Fluminense, and international team-mate Yerson Mosquera as they play at the Club World Cup this summer. They reached the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Chelsea.

He has 31 caps for Colombia, won the Copa Libertadores with Fluminense in 2023, and has already played 229 games for the Brazilian side.

BBC Sport Noel Sliney

Arias is older than the majority of South American players who travel to Europe to try their luck.

However, the club’s new signing has been a creative force for Fluminense for a while and is affectionately known as “the Colombian Pele” by the club’s supporters.

Former Brazil international Kaka referred to the stocky Arias as “an extremely dangerous player who can decide a match at any moment” during the Club World Cup.

In that competition, Arias exhibited his trickery and unrelenting running, resulting in an unprecedented 18 chances in six games.

He was chosen as the tournament’s captain after three times and was given a spot in the team.

Arias changed positions to play up front in Fluminense’s semi-final run, but he still held the lead overall in touches per 90 minutes (68).

He participated in 40 open-play moves that resulted in shots, more than any teammate.

Arias also possessed more possessions than any other Fluminense player.