Former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo with Fabio Silva.placeholder image
Former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo with Fabio Silva. | Wolves via Getty Images
Wolverhampton Wanderers have made their fair share of transfer missteps in recent years
A lot has changed for Wolverhampton Wanderers over the last decade. In 2015/16, the club were floundering in 14th place in the Championship, having only been promoted from the third tier two seasons prior.
But the Old Gold would soon be on the up under new owners Fosun International. Wanderers ran away with the Championship title in 2017/18 and have stayed in the Premier League ever since, enjoying huge success such as consecutive seventh-placed finishes, an FA Cup semi-final and a run to the Europa League quarter-finals.
During the club’s rapid rise - all of the above happened by 2020 - some big-money signings have been brought in along the way as the ownership and various management teams built an established Premier League squad. While the majority of Wolves’ marquee purchases have been a success, this has not always been the case. We decided to have a look at some of Wolves’ worst signings in the last decade and analyse how they did at Molineux.
Wolves’ worst signings since 2015/16
Certainly the most criticised Wolves signing in the past decade and arguably the worst by some distance was Fabio Silva. Brought in for what was a club-record £35million from Porto in 2020, a newly-turned 18-year-old Silva was far from ready to live up to his price tag in the Premier League and scored just five goals in 73 appearances for the club. His fortunes only got worse after he was given the No.9 shirt by Gary O’Neil in 2023 and the 23-year-old has now been out on four loan spells, the most fruitful of which was last season with Las Palmas. Though technically a Wolves player, Silva is set to be sold permanently this summer on a cut-price deal and may still enjoy a successful career elsewhere.
Though Silva gets the headlines as a former record signing, fellow Portuguese forward Goncalo Guedes has not been much more productive since a £27.5m move from Valencia in 2022. Guedes had built up a strong reputation in Spain and was heading into the prime years of his career at the age of 25. This move seemed destined to be a success. Just three Premier League goals in 42 appearances have followed, as Guedes has struggled to adapt to the league amidst loan moves back to Portugal and Spain. As of Monday, Guedes has joined Real Sociedad on a permanent deal - for just £3.5m. A huge loss on a player Wolves fans will hope to forget.
Now for a player many fans may have forgotten already. Italian striker Patrick Cutrone was signed for £23m from AC Milan in 2019 and also arrived at Molineux with high expectations. After just half a season, it was decided he was not cut out for the Premier League. Three loan spells followed, before the 27-year-old eventually found a home for himself with Cesc Fabregas’s Como.
More disappointing Wolves signings who flopped at Molineux
Another player who is technically still at the club, Wolves signed Ki-Jana Hoever from Liverpool for £10m in 2020 following comparisons with Virgil van Dijk. Seen as a coup at the time, this move follows a similar pattern as it was decided Hoever was not good enough and several loan spells followed. That was not the worst of it, as former manager Bruno Lage blasted the young defender in 2022 - claiming a ‘lack of preparation’ was to blame for an injury. Hoever has returned to Wolves for pre-season and it remains to be seen whether he has a future at the club.
Sasa Kaljdzic is a player who still has time to turn around a disappointing spell at Molineux. The huge 6’ 7” striker signed in 2022 and has been unlucky with injuries, scoring three goals in just 14 appearances. He ruptured his ACL out on loan with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2024 and did not play a single minute of football for anyone last season, though he has recently returned in pre-season with a point to prove.
And a couple more disappointing Wolves transfers to round off this list: Jon Dadi Bodvarsson was signed with a big reputation in the Championship in 2016/17 but the striker scored just three goals in 48 games and was left behind as the club geared up for promotion. The same year, Paul Gladon signed for £1m and was sent out on loan after just three appearances, before seeing his contract terminated in 2019 due to a lack of suitors for a transfer. There have been a few disappointing loan moves, too - such as Willian Jose and Jesus Vallejo, both of whom arrived from La Liga and failed to leave an impression.
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