Hugo Bueno will soon return to Wolves after the defender was knocked out of the U21 European Championships.
Bueno impressed at the U21 Euros as Spain cruised to the quarter-finals with wins over Slovakia, Romania and a draw against Italy.
Things were going well for the Wolves left-back until England U21 clashed with Spain in the knockouts.
Lee Carsley’s side beat Spain 3-1 to bring Bueno’s time at the tournament to a close, and it’s fair to say that the result will be a particularly tough one for the Wolves star to take.
Harvey Elliott features for England vs Spain at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2025 Quarter-Final
Photo by Tullio Puglia – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Harvey Elliott caused Hugo Bueno problems
Wolves fans are excited to see Bueno return following Rayan Ait-Nouri’s departure, as a vacancy at left-back in Vitor Pereira’s squad has emerged.
Bueno starred on loan at Feyenoord last season, making his return all the more anticipated, but in the latest instalment of action from the full-back, Wolves fans might have been looking at another player.
Starting on the left side of a back four, the 22-year-old had a tough time containing Harvey Elliott, who has been eyed by Wolves as a potential summer transfer target.
Hugo Bueno Harvey Elliott
3 defensive actions 1 goal
0 key passes 2 key passes
20% successful crosses 100% successful crosses
33% successful dribbles 100% successful dribbles
4 duel wins 4 duel wins
13x possession lost 12x possession lost
Hugo Bueno vs Harvey Elliott in England U21 vs Spain U21 – Sofascore
As seen by the two players’ numbers from the game, Elliott came out on top by quite some distance on the right side, where he went head-to-head with Bueno.
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The Liverpool forward scored in the game and wreaked havoc in the wide areas, completing all of his attempted dribbles while Bueno won only half of his total duels.
It was an outing for the Wolves gem to forget but one to savour for Elliott, who impressed fans back in Liverpool by taunting Bueno over his 71 minutes on the pitch.
Wolves return now in sight for Bueno
In an alternate viewpoint, Bueno being knocked out of the tournament was a blessing for those back in WV1.
The Spaniard will now have the time to enjoy his summer break before returning to Molineux ahead of a decisive pre-season.
Pereira will use pre-season as an opportunity to assess Bueno ahead of the 2025/26 calendar, having not seen the defender in action since taking charge of Wolves back in December.
Bueno will head home, but Elliott will remain at the tournament with England in search of glory, something Wolves might track if interest in the forward is upheld for the remainder of the summer window.