If Wolverhampton Wanderers are relegated from the Premier League this season, they will have to bear the brunt of an inevitable exodus.
Of course, the Old Gold's season is very much alive, crackling with potential as Rob Edwards continues to string together results and close the wide gap on Tottenham Hotspur in 17th place.
Wolves' Remaining PL Fixtures
Date
10/04/26
18/04/26
25/04/26
02/05/26
09/05/26
17/05/26
24/05/26
The fixtures are favourable, but safety is probably out of reach for Wolves, and Fosun are going to have to start planning for the future, determining which players need to stay (looking at you, Mateus Mane), and who could be sold for a profit.
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Despite a recent upswing in form, Wolves and Rob Edwards are going to be relegated from the Premier League.
Luckily, a number of expendable talents are set to return from loan spells this summer, and players like Nasser Djiga are set to be moved on.
Why Wolves are in talks to sell Djiga
It's only been a year since Wolves signed Djiga. The centre-back from Burkina Faso joined for a £10m fee, his aggressive, front-footed style winning Red Star Belgrade fans over.
nasser-djiga-rangers-plzen
Sadly, it hasn't worked out in England for the 23-year-old, who only featured five times in the Premier League last season but left a lot to be desired during that period, losing 75% of his ground duels, making an error when protecting Jose Sa's goal and finding himself relegated to a loan spell in Scotland with Rangers for the 2025/26 campaign.
Despite his struggles at Ibrox, Djiga is in line to complete a permanent move to the club. However, Wolves are looking to orchestrate a £5m deal, meaning they are cutting their losses and selling the player for half of the sum paid just one year ago.
This is exactly the kind of recruitment failure that has contributed to Wolves' downfall, and if they head into the Championship, lessons must be learned quickly.
Djiga isn't the only one. From the first-team, some players need to be moved on, and not just for financial reasons. Toti Gomes, for example, has been abject, and the slate needs to be wiped clean there.
In fact, much of the Mlineux backline needs a factory reset, with another forgotten defender in line to be axed too.
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Wolves are going to need to retain the bulk of their squad, and that's going to be a tough ask, given many will pine for pastures new after being condemned to relegation.
Ki-Jana Hoever has been something of a mixed bag since joining Wolves from Liverpool way back when. He arrived for a fee shy of £14m but has never quite settled in the Premier League, featuring 28 times across six years on the books.
Ki-Jana Hoever for Wolves
Some would argue that Hoever's experience and the depth he would provide could prove worthwhile in rallying and returning to the Premier League, but Edwards made a point of prioritising efforts to sign a right-back in January, and Hoever's exit on loan to Sheffield United emphasised that he is finished under the new manager's wing.
The former Netherlands U21 international has completed a string of loan spells across his time in the Midlands, never quite settling or hitting the stride needed to become a mainstay in the Molineux backline.
Ki-Jana Hoever - Senior Stats by Club
Club
Stoke
Wolves
AJ Auxerre
Sheffield United
PSV Eindhoven
Liverpool
While he is an accomplished Championship defender, having completed 65 appearances in the second tier and notched 14 goal involvements, he has flattered to deceive for too long with Wolves, featuring eight times in the Premier League this season before his winter loan but lacking any sort of clarity on the ball, losing possession 9.8 times per game on average without offering any sort of stability.
Wolves need to free up space in the wider squad and whittle down the wage bill, treading a fine line between caution and profligacy as they bounce straight back up to the Premier League.
A whole host of stars need to move on this summer. If it's handled deftly, these frustrating times might just prove the turnaround Wolves need in the long run.
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