Report: Promotion-chasing Wolves asked to explain Mendes relationship

Wolverhampton Wanderers representatives have held talks with the English Football League over concerns they are sidestepping rules regarding third-party ownership, according to The Telegraph's John Percy.

A possible arrangement between the group that owns the club, Fosun International, and super-agent Jorge Mendes has been flagged by rivals in the Championship, such as Aston Villa and Leeds United. Both of those outfits harboured hopes of promotion into the Premier League this season, but are a considerable distance behind table-topping Wolves with eight matches remaining.

The EFL's chief executive Shaun Harvey met with Wolves to find out if the link-up is giving them an unfair advantage in the transfer market. A subsidiary of Fosun owns a share of Mendes' Gestifute agency, and since the former took over Wolves in July 2016 a host of the agent's clients have joined the club, including manager Nuno Espirito Santo and star midfielder Ruben Neves.

Wolves stressed they are not circumnavigating any EFL rules, and are understood to be putting together a detailed response to Championship foes addressing the reservations expressed by Aston Villa, Leeds, and others.

Considering the ease in which Wolves have taken to much of this term, they already appear to be in a good position to finish mid-table in the top flight. This is without potentially adding more players from Mendes' portfolio. The Portuguese boasts some of the sport's biggest names on his books, including Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, and Diego Costa.

Another client of Mendes, Helder Costa, opened the scoring in a 3-1 win over Burton Albion before the international break. Wolves return to league duty on Good Friday with a trip to Tony Pulis' Middlesbrough.