The news that defender Christian Marques has officially left Wolves to sign a permanent contract with Swiss club Yverdon Sport has startled a few people today.
After four years in Molineux, Marques has moved back to his native country.
Marques led the U18s and U21s, and at one point it appeared that he might contribute to the first squad.
Nuno Espirito Santo put him on the substitutes’ list for the Europa League quarterfinal matchup with Sevilla.
Marques, however, never officially made his Wolves debut with the main squad.
He has had a handful of loan periods in the last few years.
His first loan was at Belenenses SAD in Portugal, although he did not play.
He then moved on to Forest Green Rovers, where he made an impression until suffering an injury, forcing Wolves to recall him.
Marques was linked to another loan move earlier this year, according to James Collins.
This news may come as a surprise to some Wolves fans today. And it’s reasonable, given that Marques was once one of the Wolves’ most exciting prospects…
Christian Marques failed to live up to expectations at Wolves.
Many people saw Marques as the potential heir to Wolves’ Conor Coady a few years ago.
At the youth level, he played in the same position as Coady, in the midst of a back three.
The Athletic aired a profile on Marques in 2020, calling him “the real deal.”
He was the most expensive academy signing in the club’s history at the time, costing a whopping £360,000.
Interestingly, he was a guy Matt Hobbs had rated as one of the top players in Europe in his position for his age in his prior capacity as head of academy scouting.
Marques had been Switzerland’s youth captain, and he appeared to be on course to make the Wolves main team.
He did, but he couldn’t complete the final step and gain any minutes. His lending spells failed, and now we’re here.
Given the hoopla around Marques a few years ago, it’s quite frustrating that it hasn’t materialized.
However, Wolves appear to be at ease with this choice, and Marques will now seek to resume his career in his motherland.
