Wolves and their Premier League rivals must now compete until they can make changes again in January - a month that has often been busy for Wolves in recent years.
Amid frustration over failing to sign a midfielder late in the window, our Wolves fans have their say on a summer in which Wolves brought in six fresh faces.
Harry Lee
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It would have been common knowledge within the club that there would be several high-profile departures at Wolves in this transfer window.
With Cunha’s release clause, Ait-Nouri expressing a desire to move on and Semedo’s contract ending, it also meant that it was a fantastic opportunity to reshape the squad with huge wages coming off the books along with some hefty transfer fees in. Vitor Pereira has been allowed to bring in more coaching staff, and more importantly, his own ‘Director of Professional Football’ in Domenico Teti who would have a large say and influence in transfer dealings.
But despite all of this, Wolves have ended up in the same situation as we have for the past few years, incredibly short of ambition and devoid of real quality in the squad. You have to say that the transfer window has been a relative disaster, Teti and the wider recruitment team have failed us.
The squad is worryingly lopsided, with room for six centre backs and five wing-backs yet not one player in the forward position with any real pace or one-on-one winning ability. In this formation which Periera wants to set up in, the wing-backs are potentially the most important players on the pitch, in losing Semedo’s defensive qualities and Ait-Nouri’s on the ball ability, both £30m+ players, we have somehow concluded that spending roughly £10m each on their replacements would be sufficient, yet £26m+ for what could be a backup centre-back in Krejci apparently makes sense?
Jackson Tchatchoua (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Of those five wing-backs we do not have a standout, for all of R.Gomes’ endeavour he does not seem to be favoured, Wolfe and Bueno have had nearly equal game time now which suggests Pereira is as unsure as I am. On the right side Tchatchoua could well prove a useful weapon being the one member of the squad who offers raw pace, but his lack of technical ability is apparent, albeit workable.
Replacing the output of Cunha and Ait-Nouri with 32 goals and assists between them in the league alone last season would always be tough. Near impossible to the same extent under our ‘restrictions’ on maximum transfer fees and wages we are willing to pay.
Arias felt like a good signing, especially given the Club World Cup, however he will clearly take time to settle in as did Andre, J.Gomes etc. This is time Wolves simply do not have the luxury of. Fer Lopez is clearly talented but also will need time given his age.
To summarise, this means that we are still playing a defensive midfielder in Marshall Munetsi as a number 10, how has this been allowed to happen?
There were several opportunities in the transfer market this season which other Premier League sides have taken advantage of, with Premier League ready experience at fair prices such as Dewsbury-Hall, Kelleher, McAtee to name just a few – why should this not be a market we are more active in along with the Championship?
Ultimately, we head into the season light, and with Wolves having circled the drain for a few seasons now it feels as though we are destined for relegation.
John Lalley
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Wolves are not purchasing at the top end of the market and overseas players joining a struggling outfit operating in such a competitive league face a daunting challenge. Inevitably, some incomers simply can’t handle the transition.