BirminghamLive brings you Wolverhampton Wanderers news as we look at the team at Gary O’Neil’s disposal until the transfer window reopens in January.
Wolves began the summer with the goal of balancing the budget while maintaining a competitive Premier League squad for 2023/24. By the time the transfer deadline passed, they had sold players for almost £140 million while paying approximately £27 million in transfer fees. So the bit about balancing the books has been completed.
But have Wolves left themselves with a squad capable of avoiding relegation and possibly matching or even bettering their 13th-place result under Julen Lopetegui last season? We examine the choices open to incoming manager Gary O’Neil.
Goalkeepers: Tom King was signed on a free transfer from Northampton, providing veteran backup to Jose Sa and Dan Bentley. With King’s arrival, Wolves were able to cash in by selling Matija Sarkic to Millwall for about £1.2 million.
Verdict: Wolves are not any worse placed in terms of goalkeepers than they were last season, especially now that talk that Jose Sa would leave has died down. Instead, the Portuguese goalkeeper demonstrated his worth in a 1-0 win over Everton a fortnight ago.
Right-backs: Wolves have plenty of experience in this position after exercising a contract option on Nelson Semedo and bringing back former favourite Matt Doherty on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid. By signing Doherty, they were able to loan two of their bright talents to the Championship, Ki-Jana Hoever to Stoke City and Dexter Lembikisa to Rotherham. Jonny is still providing consistent cover for both full back positions.
Verdict:Wolves appear to be well covered, with the veteran Semedo and Doherty battling for the job. Semedo has started the league games so far, but Doherty helped his hopes with an outstanding performance and two goals in the 5-0 Carabao Cup triumph over Blackpool at home.
Left backs: Rayan Ait-Nouri’s re-emergence makes Wolves look stronger in this position than they did last season, when he didn’t appear to be in favour. The Algerian international has started three of the four league games and has performed admirably despite competition from Hugo Bueno and Toti.
Verdict: Because speculation that Ait-Nouri would be moved did not materialize, Gary O’Neil now has an offensive option at left back. Bueno is also an attacking option, while Toti demonstrated in the latter stages of last season that he is a solid defensive option at left back.
Centre backs: For much of the summer, this appeared to be the area most in need of strengthening, as the sales of Nathan Collins to Brentford, Conor Coady to Leicester, and Dion Sanderson to Birmingham left Wolves with only Craig Dawson, Max Kilman, and Toti as senior centre halves. They did, however, fill the post the day before the deadline by hiring Santiago Bueno from Girona.
Verdict: The decision to reject Napoli’s £30 million offer for Kilman provided assurances that there was no fire sale going on at Molineux. The £8.5 million purchase of 6ft 4in Uruguay international Bueno appears to have provided O’Neil with ample choices in central defence, especially since Matt Doherty shown against Blackpool that he can play as a right-sided centre back if O’Neil moves to a back three.
Central midfield: Wolves lost a talented player and strong character in Ruben Neves’ £47 million sale to Al-Hilal, but the club had planned for his departure when they signed Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes in January. Both appear to be good signings, and O’Neil will have competition and cover from Joe Hodge, Boubacar Traore, and new signing Tommy Doyle.
Verdict: The £9.7m Wolves paid for Mario Lemina from Nice and the £15m Flamengo paid for Joao Gomes appear like good investments. They are building a promising collaboration in an area where O’Neil has depth.
Attacking midfielders/wingers: Matheus Nunes’ £53m move to Manchester City on deadline day means Wolves say goodbye to a player who demonstrated his ability in the opening game against Manchester United. But he wasn’t regularly that prominent last season, and Wolves made a profit on the £42 million they paid Sporting Lisbon for him, but 10% of the profit went to his previous club.
The agreement also allowed them to add players just before the deadline, including Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Tommy Doyle, Enso Gonzalez, and Santiago Bueno, with Daniel Podence departing on a season-long loan to Olympiacos this week.
Verdict: Much will rely on how Bellegarde and Gonzalez adjust, though at only 18, Gonzalez should be given plenty of time to acclimate after joining from Paraguayan club Libertad.
Wolves only scored 31 league goals last season, which was due to a lack of creativity more than the attackers’ fault. The good news is that Pedro Neto has had a wonderful start to the season, assisting on three goals, putting him joint top of the Premier League assists tally. Hwang Hee-Chan has had a good start to the campaign as well, and O’Neil has options with Pablo Sarabia.
Centre forward: Following the departures of Diego Costa and Raul Jimenez, Wolves appear to be lacking in numbers at the centre striker position. They asked about strikers before the deadline, with Che Adams and Boulaye Dia on the list of possibles, but have settled on Matheus Cunha, Fabio Silva, and Sasa Kaladjzic as their three senior strikers, with Nathan Fraser providing cover and competition.
Verdict: The most serious concern. Wolves appear to be most vulnerable to injuries and suspensions before the transfer window reopens in January. Three senior strikers is a little thin, but Pablo Sarabia and Hwang Hee-Chan provide further alternatives as number tens. Kalajdzic has started the season brightly with two goals as he works his way back to full fitness after missing nearly a year due to an ACL injury.
Leave a Reply