Wolves could sell an out-of-sorts forward and sign an exciting Crystal Palace star this summer.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have had a busy transfer window so far but there’s still plenty of work to do to get Vitor Pereira’s squad in a competitive place for the new season.
The Old Gold had a tricky start to the summer as they bid farewell to two of their star players, Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri. The good news was their moves to Manchester United and Manchester City raked in around £95 million combined, but letting two key men go was always going to create an uphill battle.
Wolves have since signed promising winger Fer Lopez from Celta Vigo for £19.5 million, versatile attacking midfielder Jhon Arias from Fluminense for £17 million and left-back David Moller Wolfe from AZ Alkmaar for £11 million. Albeit three exciting additions on paper, but they are all unproven in the Premier League and are risk signings.
As Wanderers have also turned Jorgen Strand Larsen’s loan from Celta permanent for around £23 million, a total spend of roughly £70 million has been racked up. There’s still some budget left over to try and bring in a few more new faces, but a sale or several may be required to free up a few more funds.
Wolves should cash in on £70k-a-week forward
One way Wolves could bring in some cash is to sell two of their out-of-sorts attackers. Although Wanderers are being stubborn about their asking price, talks are reportedly advanced with AS Roma and Borussia Dortmund over the potential sale of Fabio Silva, so he could be the obvious first.
One player who isn’t so obvious who we want to focus on today, though, is Hwang Hee-chan. Regardless of what happens with Silva, Hwang is someone we believe should be sold as he’s clearly past his best and no longer has the same attacking prowess that he once did.
Hwang was superb in 2023/24. One of Wolves’ best players, in fact. His 12 goals and three assists in 29 Premier League outings certainly didn’t go unnoticed, but those levels were not repeated last season. Even when Wolves were completely revitalised and in strong attacking form under Pereira, Hwang looked a shadow of his former self and was unable to make any real impression.
You could even argue that Goncalo Guedes, now shipped off to Real Sociedad, had more of an impact last season than Hwang did. As much as the South Korea international could be a rotation option of sorts, this summer could be Wolves’ last opportunity to bank a decent fee as he turns 30 in January.
Birmingham City were linked with a potential move for Hwang at one stage, but it’s believed the player didn’t fancy the drop down to the Championship. That’s fair enough, but there’s bound to be interest from other clubs that Hwang would be more open to joining. It may not be a huge transfer fee but even £12 million or so - just an estimate - could go a long way.
According to Capology, a website which estimates player salaries, Hwang is currently on around £70,000 per week at Wolves. Not only would the Old Gold be banking some transfer funds, but they’d also be freeing up some wages if he were sold. It’s definitely worth considering.
£10m Crystal Palace star could be answer to Wolves problems
Better still, there’s an exciting young player Wolves could then go on to sign by using the Hwang money. Crystal Palace are reportedly weighing up whether to sell winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi this summer and Birmingham World believes he could be an astute signing for Wolves.
Rak-Sakyi has progressed nicely in the past two years, most recently impressing on loan at Sheffield United with seven goals in 34 Championship games throughout 2024/25. Pereira is understood to want a left-footed right winger who is confident taking on defenders and Rak-Sakyi, albeit inexperienced at this level, could fit the bill.
The 22-year-old is being eyed for a potential permanent move to Sheffield United, as per the Daily Record. Southampton and Rangers have also been credited with interest, though it’s not too late for Wolves to try and compete for his signature if they wish to do so.
The report from the Daily Record suggests Palace are seeking around £10 million to let Rak-Sakyi leave this summer. That may sound like a lot, but the England Under-21 international was in the top 15 per cent of all Championship wingers last season for goals, successful dribbles and touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes.
Those metrics prove he’s a tricky customer for defenders and a possible game-changer. They could also suggest Rak-Sakyi is now ready for the step up from the Championship. Now, it may take him a little while to adjust to the top flight, but Rak-Sakyi’s main strengths are his pace and directness – two things that should translate no matter the division.
Perhaps not a starter at first but more of an impact substitute, the pressure wouldn’t immediately be on Rak-Sakyi to hit the ground running. Instead, the winger could make a gradual breakthrough and terrorise defenders with his fresh legs off the bench.
Remember what the rapid Carlos Forbs was meant to be last season? Yeah, Rak-Sakyi could be that injection of pace but with a better end product. The competition will be fierce but Wolves should at least entertain the idea of signing the Palace man. He could be a star of the future.
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