Could Nottingham Forest's James McAtee link up with Rob Edwards at Wolverhampton Wanderers? | National World / Getty Imagesplaceholder image
Could Nottingham Forest's James McAtee link up with Rob Edwards at Wolverhampton Wanderers? | National World / Getty Images | National World / Getty Images
Rob Edwards needs to pull off miracles on the pitch and in the transfer market at Molineux
Only West Ham have conceded more goals than Wolves and they’ve scored less than anyone else in the league, with a goal difference that’s a full five clear of the next-worst team, and a coaches’ impact can only go far in the face of such all-encompassing problems so new signings are a must despite the challenges Edwards’ side will have attracting quality players.
“January’s going to be really interesting because of the position we’re in right now,” Edwards told TNT Sports’ Sign Up show last week. “And if I’m being really honest, it depends on where we’re at.
“It might be difficult to lure some players in at the moment in this situation, so we’ve got to have realism in this window as well. We do want to try and make some changes of course, and we’re working hard on that, it’s probably going to be a bit fluid and it might change as we go throughout the window.”
Given they’ll likely be playing Championship football next season and funding a squad with second-tier revenue, Wolves will also need to be cautious about making any big splashes on players that could become albatrosses on that financial situation in a few months’ time.
So they’re looking at a pretty exclusive combination of criteria of players available for loan who are Premier League-proven and would be willing for one of the worst teams the division has ever seen. Luckily there’s at least one player who fits the bill: James McAtee.
Forest’s forgotten man McAtee could revive Wolves
When Nottingham Forest splashed out on McAtee, Dan Ndoye and Omari Hutchinson this summer to compete for starts with Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi, there were already concerns they were setting themselves up for a tough balancing act.
And so it’s proven, with McAtee racking up less than 500 minutes so far this campaign and yet to notch a goal or assist for his new side. He netted seven times in 650 minutes for the Citizens across their three primary competitions though including a goal every 114 minutes in the Premier League, a strike rate Wolves could certainly use.
He scored 75% of his shots on target, a remarkable return, and his expected goals (xG) per shot of 0.19 across the last 12 months puts him in the top 3% of players in his position across Europe’s big five leagues according to Opta via FBref.
Of course, this is from a tiny sample size. But anyone who saw him play in sky blue witnessed the creative spark he brings to a team and realistically, Wolves need to gamble at this stage. But would Nottingham Forest even give him up to the team just three places below them?
No shortage of suitors for McAtee in Premier League and beyond
Though Wolves are only three places below the Tricky Trees, they’re also 14 points behind. Would Liverpool be worried about loaning Rio Ngumoha to Forest, spanning the same gap? We doubt it. And the loan could be structured so if McAtee over-performs and is making the City Ground faithful nervous, they can recall him at any point.
The bigger problem facing Rob Edwards and co. is that Wolves are far from the only team in the division devoid of creativity and goal-scoring who would be happy to take a punt on a low-risk loan. Chelsea are among the five clubs monitoring McAtee according to the Daily Mail, though that’s surely shrunk as another interested party Leeds United just signed Facundo Buonanotte instead.
Bournemouth are also tracking the 23-year-old, and he reportedly has a host of admirers on the continent including in the Bundesliga. Wolves can’t afford to over-commit on his wages though he could be worth taking a bit of a risk on given their precarious situation. And they can at least offer the quickest path to the first team given how terrible the rest of the side is.
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