With the 25/26 summer window slamming shut at 7pm on Monday 1 September, there still seems to be a sense of disappointment amongst the Wolves fanbase. Has it been a success or has poor recruitment put Wolves in a tricky position? We’ve asked the Talking Wolves writers for their thoughts, opinions and ratings on the transfer window.
Oliver Desai – Rating 5/10
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This transfer window has made Fosun’s intentions lucid: there is no ambition, and their only aim is to stay up. Once again, we are left one or two players short of a solid squad, becoming plagued with depth in the wrong areas and restrained by the rules surrounding homegrown players. Whilst Wolves have spent roughly the same amount of money as they were able to bring in, there is still a severe lack of quality in the squad, especially in attack. Allowing so many experienced players to leave to reduce the wage bill and replacing them with cheaper downgrades, Fosun are allowing Wolves to nosedive towards relegation, and I think, this time, it might be too late to salvage in January. This season, it feels as if their neglect from previous years is finally going to come to light on the pitch. By following the usual trend of leaving business until late in the transfer window, Pereira has not had the opportunity to spend preseason with most of his signings, leading to yet another poor start to the season. What I will applaud the hierarchy for, however, is allowing Pereira to have greater control over his incomings than any other manager in recent years. What I find the most frustrating and disappointing is the reluctance from Fosun to provide another ~£30M to bring in another midfielder or inside forward – their obsession with self-sustainability leaves us incredibly vulnerable this season.
Oliver Butler – Rating 5/10
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Broadly, the situation at Wolves can be seen as rosy; wantaway players have been sold for large sums, freeing them to live their dreams of bungling the winning penalty at Grimsby, hungry youngsters have bought into the “project” of modelling Sudu kits on social media, and a talismanic striker has stayed put in the name of good PR.
Though can you, the reader, describe yourself as optimistic for the coming weeks and months ahead?
The midfield situation could be concerning, if there was a midfield to begin with, the defence makes the Maignot Line look sturdy, and if you only pursue goals being scored in football games, Wolves might not be an ideal choice.
Football has a funny way of making you eat your words, and all of this might not matter come May. Our new signings should be given the benefit of the doubt and given time to bed in.
The main concern is the disjointed nature of the club at present; there is a certain apathy that hangs over Molineux, and has stalked the club for a long time, driven by the owners. The passion and indeed the permission of the fans remains, but for how much longer?
We have recruited, but we haven’t replaced. We are talented, but inexperienced. We are near, but somehow also miles away.
At present, Wolves look locked in for another relegation scrap, and with rivals around doing good business, this may well be the season where apathy turns to agony.
George Earlam – Rating 6.5/10
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The Wolves transfer window wasn’t as disastrous as people claim it to be. The sales of Cunha and Ait Nouri are of course a massive blow, however Fosun have invested and backed Vitor considerably more than previous managers. One main criticism I have is how late they have conducted their business: with us being winless in the opening three games, the team are largely lacking confidence and a poor start is never a good thing. Fer Lopez looks promising and we await to see the impact of Tolu Arokodare, however in an ideal scenario I would’ve liked another attacking midfielder and a backup to Joao Gomes and Andre. However, I believe that now Vitor has the responsibility of getting the best out of his squad.
Jacob Jones – Rating 4/10
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Overall, a window that left a lot to be desired for Wolves fans. We were told by Jeff Shi that the hypothetical “penny” had dropped and we were about to see something different this window but ultimately, it feels like another window that we have come out of weaker than we came into it.
We lost major players in Matheus Cunha, Ryan Ait-Nouri, Pablo Sarabia and Goncalo Guedes, but our replacements do not seem to be of the same quality at this moment in time.
Other clubs did struggle to attract players this window, it’s not just Wolverhampton Wanderers. The frustration stems from the number of players Wolves would let go on permanent deals or on loan and instead of bringing in a player to replace them, Wolves would leave the squad in a weaker position.
I was also very disappointed by Wolves’ stance on deadline day, seemingly giving up on incomings with hours left of the window, whilst other teams in the league such as Brentford, Aston Villa and Fulham would continue late into the day trying to get deals done.
The main victory of the window is that we were able to keep hold of our two star midfielders in João Gomes and Andre as well as Jorgen Strand Larsen who looked likely to move to Newcastle in the closing stages of the window.
Luke Fletcher – Rating 5/10
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For Wolves, this summer’s transfer window feels more like a step backwards than a platform to push on. The sales of Matheus Cunha to Manchester United and Rayan Aït-Nouri to Manchester City have left Pereira’s side without two of its most influential players, both of whom were central to Wolves’ attacking threat and balance.
The replacements, while promising in certain respects, simply don’t look to be of the same calibre. Fer López and Jhon Arias offer energy and potential, but they are untested at Premier League level. Tolu Arokodare’s deadline-day arrival brings a physical presence up front, yet it’s hard to imagine him filling Cunha’s creative role. Defensively, Jackson Tchatchoua, Ladislav Krejčí, and David Møller Wolfe add depth and pace, but losing a player of Nélson Semedo’s quality leaves a glaring void and a lack of leadership.
Perhaps most frustrating is the failure to address the midfield, an area that is crying out for reinforcements. Instead, both Tommy Doyle and Boubacar Traoré were allowed to leave on loan. Without a creative spark, Wolves risk being predictable and lacking control in tight games. The wage bill has also been trimmed, with many of the club’s highest earners, such as Pablo Sarabia, moved on, and sales of Fabio Silva and Gonçalo Guedes. Still, for a club that already has one of the lowest wage bills, there doesn’t seem to be much point if the money saved isn’t invested in proven Premier League quality players.
One positive is that, after signing Jørgen Strand Larsen for £23 million following his very successful loan spell last season, Wolves managed to stave off interest from Newcastle, despite a £55 million bid. Overall, Wolves have weakened their squad and taken a gamble on players who must adapt quickly.
Kyle Baldemore – Rating 6/10
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A lot of attention will be on Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait Nouri, but the most impactful departure for Wolves may very well prove to be Nelson Semedo, leaving on a free to Fenerbahce. Cunha was obviously the most creative player on the squad last year, but the club were able to successfully navigate his multiple suspensions with serviceable backup plans. Hugo Bueno did well in the Eredivisie on loan last year, which, for me at least, softened the blow of losing Ait Nouri. Losing Semedo, despite Vitor Pereira’s best efforts to keep him there, marks the fifth time in as many years where Wolves are forced to assign a new captain. I’m optimistic about the offensive reinforcements (Arokdare, Lopez and Arias), but the defence, once again, has an alarming lack of depth. I trust Vitor, the master tactician that he is, to tinker the back line accordingly, but if I had to summarise this window in a positive light, my statement would be “at least we kept Strand Larsen”. I would not be surprised if we’re looking to retool again this January.
Jack Johnson – Rating 5/10
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Overall, it’s an okay transfer window as far as things go. If we swapped a couple of our signings with players that had played in the Premier League, or we’d signed them well over a month ago, I would be inclined to rate it higher. But the lack of midfield depth that we sorely need (and have known about for a month), a lack of readiness for our fourth Premier League game and a real lack of experience in general is worrying. Vítor has put this together himself with the help of Teti, so these are ultimately his players which means the tall order of getting everyone up to speed solely falls on him. I back him to do this though, and to keep us up – but it does feel like another year of battling at the bottom end of the table, unless something clicks with the new boys fast.
My rating plummets to the below score mainly due to how slow everything seems to go with us. I’m very bored of seeing confirmed signings coming out of nowhere for other teams, quality players that we absolutely should have been in for, but instead we chase players for weeks that come to nothing, and that valuable time spent is completely lost. It’s like we refuse to multitask, and then we constantly lose races because we put all of our effort into one thing. I would rate this window a 5/10, because almost every transfer we have made excluding making Strand Larsen permanent is a gamble on Vítor helping players adapt to the Premier League, and we absolutely needed a midfielder.
Leo Cook – Rating 5/10
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I went into this window feeling quietly optimistic. With the reshuffle in the recruitment team and talk of the “penny” finally dropping, it seemed we were finally going to back a manager and give Vitor the rebuild he deserved. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.
One of my biggest frustrations is how sluggish we were in the window. Once again, we have left the majority of our business far too late, starting the season without a full squad and with many players without a full pre-season. For arguably our most important window since promotion, the lack of urgency is very worrying and has once again caused us to start the season on the back foot.
The biggest disappointment is the lack of investment in top-quality players proven at the top level. Replacing the likes of Cunha, Ait Nouri and Semedo is no easy task, but instead of targeting established talent, we have opted for extremely cheap options who don’t seem to improve the team much at all. Of course, it’s too early to judge, and maybe I am being harsh, but the calibre of players brought in doesn’t exactly scream ambition but rather mediocracy just to scrape by. I also want to question what kind of project we are trying to attract additions with. We have been rejected by so many players whereas teams such as Sunderland, who have just been promoted, seem to be able to attract an array of talent across Europe with no issues. Wolves have become a club defined by a lack of ambition and the recruitment shows this. We once were able to attract players like Neves and Moutinho, now we are getting rejected by Josh Brownhill.
Ultimately, Vitor Pereira has been left with an inexperienced and incomplete squad. He will do the best he can with what he has, but it looks to be another season circling the drain and that for me is unforgiveable from Fosun. Pure incompetence from those running the club has given us a window that in my opinion, can be no higher than a 5/10.
Ethan Diggory – Rating 4/10
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Overall, the transfer window has been utterly deplorable. Key players gone. Not replaced with adequate quality. Lack of planning leading to a desperate attempt for a homegrown midfielder. Usually, I am quite optimistic when it comes to Wolves. Not once over the past few years have I been convinced of relegation – until now. We have been lucky to avoid the drop due to promoted teams not being good enough. Now, Sunderland have taken one look at the state that clubs like us are in and gone for it. Would be amazed if they don’t stay up, it just remains the question as to whether we do as well. I said at the time that getting rid of Hobbs would prove stupid in what is a pivotal window for us and not to be the “I told you so” person that everyone despises, but I feel somewhat vindicated that it has been shown that at least he could convince new singings to join. I just can’t see a world in which we stay up, despite some “big money signings” for where we are at right now such as Krejci and Arokodare. Would love to be proven wrong and there is clearly some quality in the squad, especially through Jørgen Strand Larsen. Going to be another year of the rinse and repeat tactic of sacking the manager and spending big in January I fear.
Zackary Haynes – Rating 5/10
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The whole transfer window had an air of inevitability about it but I was still left feeling dejected when it slammed shut on deadline day. The frustration and disappointment for me has originated from a culmination of poor transfer windows where we sell our best players and not adequately replace them.
The apparent lack of planning by the recruitment team is astounding. You see other clubs replace their key players before they have even been sold. We knew in April that we had guaranteed our Premier League safety, and by June we had already sold Cunha and Ait-Nouri. I thought this had put us in an advantageous position with money at our disposal to attack the transfer window. I was wrong.
I would have thought Fosun would have learned their lesson by now after coming close to relegation in 2 of our last 3 seasons. But it seems as though they will revert to their usual mantra of underspending in the summer window and then attempt to bail themselves out in the January window should they need to.
I would love to be proved wrong but I don’t think it will be enough this time.