Wolverhampton Wanderers have enjoyed a mini-resurgence under Rob Edwards in the Premier League, but their shallow hopes of staging a great escape were dealt a heavy blow last weekend, defeated 4-0 at West Ham United.
The gulf is too great, and while the club and the players will maintain that they will fight until the final whistle at the end of May, there is bound to be a tacit sense that next term will be contested in the Championship.
While Molineux has more than enough strength to bounce straight back up, much hinges on the recruitment, with the error-filled second half showing at the London Stadium not characteristic of a unified team capable of leaping over the dotted line.
Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Rob Edwards applauds fans after the match
It's clear that the Old Gold need a reset, and while many will leave, not all of the struggling stars should go, with Jackson Tchatchoua being a case in point.
Tchatchoua's form for Wolves
Should Wolves tumble down into the Championship, Tchatchoua could be a key part of the project. For this reason, that the battlegrounds will shift, it might be an ill-advised decision to cash in on the right-sider.
Endowed with sharp pace and athleticism suitable for Premier League football, he has struggled to settle aboard a sinking ship, though he has been praised for making certain gains in recent weeks.
However, the fleet-footed wideman might not be hitting the heights that some believe, only winning 36% of his dribbles and making three direct defensive mistakes throughout the season.
Fastest Pace in the Premier League (25/26)
Player
Jackson Tchatchoua
Jackson Tchatchoua
Destiny Udogie
Anthony Elanga
Bryan Mbeumo
Pedro Neto
Against West Ham, he really did flatter to deceive, putting in another poor performance. He lacks end product and he was probably at fault for Jarrod Bowen goal, setting the tone for a miserable evening.
Wolves must ring a few changes when they take on Leeds United, and dropping Tchatchoua could be the order of the day, both for the afternoon and looking ahead to next season.
Wolves must replace Tchatchoua with young talent
While Tchatchoua has attributes worth bringing into the Championship, it's clear that he has yet to demonstrate that he is an unmovable starter in Edwards' first-team. And yet, he has started 18 times in the Premier League this season.
Much rides on the looming clash with Leeds, but it might be worth giving the young Pedro Lima his first start of the season, with the "ridiculous" talent, as he has been called by analyst Ben Mattinson in the past, boasting the perfect skillset for a right-back, defensively sound but with power, pace and energy in attacking sequences.
wolves-pedro-lima
Edwards has been counselled by his analytical team on Lima and his development. They have determined that he is not ready for non-stop Premier League action.
But would Lima truly be such a downgrade on Tchatchoua, a player who might benefit from a reminder that he has a prospect breathing down his neck.
The 19-year-old has only featured three times in the Premier League, returning in January from a loan spell with Porto across the first half of the 2025/26 season.
In January, Edwards said that he "has impressed us so much with his crossing ability", partnering that technical skill with an innate athleticism and while Edwards will be wary to throw him into the deep end, he
In truth, playing for a high-performing Championship team might prove beneficial for rising stars like Tchatchoua and Lima, but given the former's terrible fortunes in the top flight this season, Lima surely deserves a shot now, having sat as an unused substitute for the past seven Premier League matches.
Pedro Lima for Wolves
The Brazilian youngster is not quite ready to take on a starring role, but Wolves don't have much to lose, and Edwards' system could benefit from a freshen-up that would see a young talent pounce on an opportunity to make a difference over the final weeks and heading into the crucial new campaign.
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