Regardless of whether they’re a Premier League team next season or not, Wolves will have a lot of important decisions to make in the summer.
Vitor Pereira has done an excellent job since he replaced Gary O’Neil. The Wolves manager must oversee a summer of change, though.
Wolves were the second-highest spenders in January and will be involved in more deals at the end of the season.
READ: Vitor Pereira on red alert as importance of Wolves’ summer business exposed with worrying fact
Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images
Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images
Wolves must make Fabio Silva transfer decision in summer
One player whose future must be decided is Fabio Silva’s. The forward is on his fourth, and arguably best, loan spell since joining from Porto five years ago.
The 22-year-old has been directly involved in a goal every other game for Las Palmas and is finally showing glimpses of fulfilling his potential.
Silva will reach a crossroads in his Wolves career at the end of the season, though. The forward’s contract at Molineux expires in 18 months.
Fabio Silva Contract Detail
Contract Expiry June, 2026
Last Extension July, 2022
Weekly Wage £80,000
Current Transfer Value £20 million
*Figures from Transfermarkt and Capology
Failure to include an option to trigger an extension means Wolves must decide whether to cash in this summer or gamble on his final year by including him in Pereira’s plans.
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‘Tricky policy’ hints at Rodrigo Gomes plan
Silva’s transfer from Porto in 2020 cost Wolves £35.6 million — a then-club-record transfer fee.
And having so far failed to get the best out of the Portuguese striker, Wolves risk failing on their already-‘tricky transfer policy’.
Assessing Wolves’ predicament when it comes to working out what to do with Silva, BBC Sports’ Mike Taylor said: “However it ends, the Wolves-Silva story demonstrates just what a tricky policy this is – and yet the logic remains impeccable.
“Silva’s cost made his an extreme case, and the outlays on individual young players – Rodrigo Gomes and Pedro Lima last summer, for example – have since been more modest.”
Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images
He added: “In the long run, it would only need one in every few of these bets to develop into a £50m-plus rated property to cover the costs, and you would have the benefit of their talent while they improved.”
Taylor believes Wolves’ long-term transfer strategy is to develop young and inexperienced players, and nurture their ability before selling on for a significant profit.
Should this be the case, Wolves fans may have to make the most of some of the side’s most exciting youngsters, including Gomes, because it seems they won’t be sticking around for long.