During the season he performed well, when selected. He made 48 appearances in all competitions, bagging eight goals and one assist over 2,601 minutes. In La Liga he played 32 times, scoring four goals. Wu played seven times in the Europa League qualifiers, notching a goal and an assist, and then seven more games in the Europa League proper, scoring once. In the Copa del Rey he scored twice across three games.

All in all, since his arrival in January 2019, Wu played 63 times – a more impressive feat as he arrived at the end of the CSL season rather than the middle – and scored 11 goals.

He has certainly been good for the Chinese-owned club, on and off the pitch. Espanyol have reportedly attracted more viewers in China than even Barcelona and Real Madrid during his time, while the club have picked up sponsorship deals with mainland companies Irongest, Suanfarma Pharmaceutical Group, iFlyTek and China Mobile. Their Chinese-Spanish shirt supplier Kelme also noted 10,000 sales of Wu’s shirt in the first month, with delays on delivery because of a backlog.

‘Sonny’ disposition will help Wu Lei – and those judging him

No wonder there is interest in a player once compared to Diego Maradona and more recently described as a “money-printing machine”.

At the head of the queue now is Turkish Superlig side Beskitas. Turkish media outlet Fotospor has reported on their interest several times in recent weeks. Besiktas president Ahmet Nur Cebi was said to be positive for Wu’s prospects on the pitch and bringing in sponsorship.

Now reports suggest that any deal would not cost the club any money, with China’s iFlyTek willing to pay the transfer fee and wages as the artificial intelligence (AI) company looks to enter the Turkish market. It is reported that the club would also expect to add more sponsors from China, the chances of which would greatly increase if they can secure Uefa Champions League football instead of Europa League.

Chinese-owned Wolverhampton Wanderers got a chance to see Wu up close during their Europa League round of 32 meeting in February, although Espanyol barely impressed in a 6-2 aggregate loss.

Still, Wolves have made a point of mopping up young players with Chinese heritage since being taken over by Fosun and they have made it clear that is part of a targeted plan. Wu is the only Chinese player in any of Europe’s top five leagues and a move would make sense for all parties.

Wu Lei crashes Chinese internet with goal on return

If not Wolves, then perhaps Watford, another English Premier League side that has been linked with a move for Wu.

Kelme has just been announced as the club’s shirt suppliers for next season so there is an added financial incentive for it to work out. On the downside, Watford are not yet safe and on Sunday they sacked manager Nigel Pearson with two games of the English Premier League season left. If the club are relegated to the Championship then the transfer is less likely.

Wu can play in the Spanish second tier simply by seeing out the three-year contract he signed 18 months ago – and he has indicated that he might.

“If Espanyol needs me, and I’m capable of making contributions to the team, I will choose to stay,” Wu told Chinese newspaper People’s Daily earlier this month as Espanyol stared relegation in the face.

Japan international Shinji Okazaki has shone in the second tier with Huesca this season, with the 34-year-old firing them back to the top flight. Wu, at 28, faces a difficult choice over his next step.