Wolves went from being on cloud nine to crashing back down to earth on Saturday after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Bournemouth.
It was a horrible display marred by defensive errors, as Jose Sa produced a concerning performance alongside Mario Lemina and Toti Gomes at centre-back.
The Old Gold have been exposed this term for how easy they are to carve open, with Matt Hobbs made to pay for not signing a Max Kilman replacement.
Gary O’Neil’s men have the worst defence in the Premier League after conceding an alarming 32 goals in 13 matches.
Wolves are targeting a centre-back in January in an attempt to fix that problem, but it isn’t the only issue that has exposed their flawed transfer policy.
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Jorgen Strand Larsen celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wander...
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Wolves have only two success stories from the 2024 summer transfer window
Following the disastrous end to the 2023/24 campaign, O’Neil knew he had to invest his focus on improving the starting XI, something he failed to do.
So far, only striker Jorgen Strand Larsen and defensive midfielder Andre have nailed their places in the Wolves side.
The other six arrivals, including Tommy Doyle, Bastien Meupiyou, Pedro Lima, Rodrigo Gomes, Carlos Forbs and Sam Johnstone, have all failed to produce consistently good displays, or haven’t played much at all.
Wolves new signings Premier League starts Minutes played
Tommy Doyle 2 271
Rodrigo Gomes 3 252
Carlos Forbs 1 212
Sam Johnstone 5 450
Bastien Meupiyou 0 0
Pedro Lima 0 0
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In the case of Meupiyou and Lima, two teenage talents, excuses can be made for their lack of involvement.
Meupiyou is only just returning from injury, while Lima was back in training this week, with the Brazilian looking bright in his Carabao Cup display against Burnley, assisting Goncalo Guedes.
But, for the rest on that list, it just further highlights the point that not enough quality was brought in during the summer and Wolves have suffered as a result.
Wolves failed to replace Pedro Neto and Max Kilman
While Wolves targeted investment with the future in mind, the above table suggests they didn’t sign players for the present, as Gomes and Forbs have notably struggled.
This ultimately comes back to not replacing their key stars Kilman and Pedro, who were invaluable to O’Neil last term and instead signed players with big potential.
Having one eye on the future can be commended but their position in the Premier League table suggests Wolves didn’t sign enough established players.
Fosun not making funds available didn’t help O’Neil in his pursuit of talent, although it’s become evident that failing to adequality replace Kilman and Neto has backfired.
In January, alongside signing a new centre-back, Wolves must make it their priority to capture players who are ready to make an impact in their fight for survival.
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