A Deadline Day To Remember: How Do They Stack Up to Past Seasons?

GEORGE LAKIN TALKS ABOUT A Deadline Day To Remember: An Analysis of Wolves’ Recruitment And How This Summer’s Arrivals Compare To Seasons Gone By.

With the transfer window now firmly closed, Wolves fans can finally assess whether the club has done enough to bolster the squad for the season ahead. In this piece, I take an in-depth look at the business Wolves have conducted over recent seasons, particularly focusing on how late signings have historically impacted our campaigns.

Now that the dust has settled, the question remains: can last gasp moves really breed success, or is it always better to get business done early? I weigh up the risks and rewards of late signings by drawing on examples from Wolves’ recent history- to determine whether, once again, we’ve been too reactive or if there is always still hope in the eleventh hour.

Premier League Season 2018-19

Our best transfer window in recent memory occurred upon our return to the Premier League in 2018. Wolves did all their business early, with no late deals. This summer remains a fond memory, marked by the following key signings:

• Rui Patrício (Sporting CP) – 18 June 2018: The experienced Portuguese goalkeeper joined Wolves on a free transfer after terminating his contract with Sporting CP.

• Raúl Jiménez (Benfica) – 12 June 2018: Initially signed on a season-long loan, later made permanent, Jiménez became a key player for Wolves.

• Willy Boly (FC Porto) – 1 June 2018: After a successful loan spell during the 2017-2018 Championship season, Boly was signed permanently.

• Diogo Jota (Atlético Madrid) – 1 July 2018: Jota, another loan success in the Championship, was signed permanently after promotion.

• Jonny Otto (Atlético Madrid) – 25 July 2018: Jonny was initially signed on loan, with an option to buy, which was exercised in January 2019.

• João Moutinho (Monaco) – 24 July 2018: The experienced midfielder joined Wolves from AS Monaco, bringing significant experience to the team.

• Adama Traoré (Middlesbrough) – 8 August 2018: Traoré was signed for a then club-record fee of £18 million, just before the summer transfer window closed.

• Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht) – 9 August 2018: Signed on loan with an obligation to buy, Dendoncker joined on the final day of the summer transfer window.

• Rúben Vinagre (Monaco) – 30 June 2018: Initially on loan during the Championship season, Vinagre’s move was made permanent in the summer.

This was a summer of early planning and strategic execution -still considered by many as our greatest transfer window of all time- that set the tone for our successful return to the Premier League. But since then, Wolves have slipped into the habit of conducting business later and later.

Premier League Season 2019-20

Wolves had a relatively quiet summer transfer window in 2019, focusing on making key loan deals permanent, including Leander Dendoncker from Anderlecht and Raúl Jiménez from Benfica. Additionally, Wolves struck a double deal with Lazio, securing young Portuguese winger Pedro Neto and midfielder Bruno Jordão. They also added Italian striker Patrick Cutrone from AC Milan and brought in Jesús Vallejo on loan from Real Madrid to strengthen the defence.

Despite this activity, Neto was the standout success, while Jordão, Vallejo, and Cutrone failed to make an impact. The window marked the beginning of Nuno’s frustrations at Wolves. However, a late reinforcement arrived in the January window of 2020, with Daniel Podence from Olympiacos for £16m. Podence, in spells, made a significant impact on the team, proving to be one of the few successful late signings in recent years.

Premier League Season 2020-21

With a delayed start to the season, Wolves managed to get most of their business done in good time. This season saw the arrival of two ‘wonder kids’: Fábio Silva from FC Porto and Vitinha, also from FC Porto. While Silva’s time at Wolves has been mixed, Vitinha, unfortunately, slipped through our fingers.

The ever-dependable Nelson Semedo also joined from Barcelona. While there were no especially late signings in the summer, Wolves made a late swoop for Willian José from Real Sociedad in January 2021. However, his time at Wolves was largely uninspiring, with just one goal in 17 appearances.

Premier League Season 2021-22

Wolves began a new era under Bruno Lage in the summer of 2021, making several key signings to reshape the squad. José Sá replaced the outgoing Rui Patrício, and Rayan Aït-Nouri’s move from Angers was made permanent. Wolves also signed Francisco Trincão on loan from Barcelona, but he never quite found his feet in the Premier League.

A late surprise came in the form of Hee-Chan Hwang, arriving on loan from RB Leipzig on 29 August 2021. After a solid start, including a brace against Newcastle United, Wolves activated the option to make the deal permanent in January.

Premier League Season 2022-23

Wolves brought in Nathan Collins from Burnley early in the window for £20.5 million. This was followed by the high-profile signing of Matheus Nunes from Sporting CP for £38 million on 17 August 2022. While Nunes showed flashes of brilliance, his time at Wolves was brief, with the club making a small profit when Manchester City came calling the following summer.

The summer of 2022 also saw plenty of late business. Sasa Kalajdzic arrived from VfB Stuttgart for £15.5 million on 31 August 2022, and Boubacar Traoré followed from Metz on 1 September 2022 (deadline day). Injuries have plagued Kalajdzic, making it hard to judge his impact, while Traoré has been a reliable squad option.

Premier League Season 2023-24

Last summer was more notable for departures than arrivals as Wolves scrambled to meet FFP requirements and avoid the potential points deductions that the likes of Everton and Nottingham Forest suffered. However, Matheus Nunes’ departure for Manchester City triggered a flurry of late business as Wolves desperately sought to strengthen. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde arrived from Strasbourg for £12.8 million on 1 September 2023, alongside Santiago Bueno from Girona for £8.5 million on the same day. Additionally, Wolves brought in Tommy Doyle from Manchester City on a season-long loan as part of the Nunes deal.

Despite the late rush, Wolves picked up three solid players. While Santiago Bueno seems to have fallen out of favour recently, a revival is certainly not out of the question and Doyle and Bellegarde remain integral to O’Neil’s plans.

Premier League Season 2024-25

So that brings us to the here and now, and so far, this summer has seen us bring in Jørgen Strand Larsen from Celta Vigo on loan. The big Norwegian has made a promising start. Pedro Lima has also come in from Sport Recife for £8.5 million but has yet to be included in a Premier League matchday squad, despite Nelson Semedo being suspended—Matt Doherty has been preferred, suggesting Lima might be further down the pecking order than expected, despite playing regularly, and looking good, in preseason.

Rodrigo Gomes arrived from SC Braga for £12.8 million and has shown potential early on. Tommy Doyle’s loan move from Manchester City was also made permanent for £5 million.

In terms of the late business that had to happen, Wolves did indeed bring in 18-year-old Bastien Meupiyou from Nantes, as well as goalkeeper Sam Johnstone from Crystal Palace. The latter’s arrival is a sure sign that Gary O’Neil’s patience with José Sá, and his persistent struggles with distribution, has finally run out. However, whether Johnstone is the answer to our goalkeeping conundrum remains to be seen.

Above all else, there was an obvious need for a centre-back, and many considered this to be our most important piece of business. Numerous targets slipped away from Wolves in the closing weeks, with Dara O’Shea being the closest to arrive. Wolves’ high press in the new four-at-the-back system was too often played through far too easily against Chelsea, and the same issue persisted up until Cunha came on against Arsenal.

From the front, we flatter to deceive—lots of work closing down, but huge spaces between pressing players with little to no cohesion. I understand Gary wants to mould Wolves on Manchester City’s high press, and when you see the way they press from the front, it’s hunting in packs of three or four around the ball straight away, with the midfield and defence squeezing into the space just behind.

Under such intense pressure, defenders panic, and the midfielders or defenders in tight behind pick up the loose ball, allowing City to go again. In contrast, the gap between Wolves’ front line and midfielders or defence has often been too wide when we’re pressing. We don’t squeeze up as a team well enough yet.

As it is an incredibly high-risk, high-reward strategy, there might be a bit of fear still kicking around in there. Players might be asking themselves, “Are we really good enough to play this system?” If Gary O’Neil believes they are, then he needs to instil that belief into them.

As it stands, there is plenty of work still to do if we actually want to be a successful high-pressing side—with a ball-playing centre-half, who’s quick on the turn and can easily step into midfield, being an obvious necessity. After all, this is why the system works so well at Manchester City, and all of Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Stones, and Aké fit this profile.

Players of this profile don’t come cheap, and so it proved this summer as Wolves’ centre-back hunt came to nothing. The nearest miss on deadline day appears to have been Chalobah from Chelsea, who ended up remaining in London, joining Crystal Palace.

We will likely be back in the market for a centre-back come January, and I do believe the best fit is Josip Šutalo at Ajax. Šutalo is a player Wolves were linked with earlier in the summer, but interest, unfortunately, cooled. He is a ball-playing centre-half who appears the most natural replacement for Max Kilman. Without a change to the system, the already faltering transition to a back four is doomed to failure for another season.

But fear not—the deadline day arrival of Brazilian defensive midfielder André from Fluminense may well bridge the gap. South American football experts consider him the best ‘number 6’ available in the market this summer, not only in South America but in Europe too. This was some coup for Wolves and is a testament to the links we have now forged with South American sides thanks to a long-term scouting strategy designed to cherry-pick emerging young talent. João Gomes certainly turned out okay, didn’t he? Which bodes very well indeed.

With the arrival of André, for an initial £18.5m, the option is now available to convert to a much more solid 4-3-3 formation. A new centre-back may not necessarily be a necessity in this system. A dedicated defensive midfielder such as André, supporting the two centre-halves by stepping back during attacks and providing cover for fullbacks when marauding forward, could be highly effective. Whether this is Gary O’Neil’s plan or not will be revealed over the next few weeks, but I think it is a very viable option.

There was one final surprise on deadline day in the shape of Ajax winger Carlos Forbs, who emerged from the Manchester City academy (thus, qualifies as ‘homegrown’—though this won’t matter much this season as he is under 21 but will definitely be very helpful in the coming seasons). He finally made the move to Wolves after being heavily linked over the summer. He joins on an initial loan with the deal to be made permanent, for £11.3m, upon making 10 first-team appearances—something that seems almost certain to be triggered.

Forbs only joined Ajax from Manchester City last summer but struggled during his first season of senior football over in the Netherlands. Prior to this, he had an outstanding season for Manchester City’s youth team in 2022-23, scoring an impressive 25 goals and providing a further 13 assists. If nothing else, there is huge potential in this signing, and Wolves will be delighted that they got it over the line—just in the nick of time.

Conclusion: A Window of Cautious Optimism or Missed Opportunities?

Transfer windows are often characterised by a flurry of late business, and this summer was no exception for Wolves. Deals tend to get done late for several reasons: clubs wait for the best possible deals, players and agents hold out for the most favourable terms, and sometimes, the realisation of squad deficiencies only becomes apparent after pre-season. Moreover, financial constraints, ongoing negotiations, and the domino effect of other transfers can all contribute to a last-minute rush. For Wolves, this summer was a prime example of how these factors can shape a club’s transfer strategy.

As we look back on this summer’s transfer window, it’s clear that Wolves navigated a complex and often turbulent market with a mix of pragmatism and late urgency. The question posed at the outset—how does this summer’s business compare to recent seasons?—is a difficult one to answer definitively.

On the one hand, there is a sense of cautious optimism. The arrivals of Jørgen Strand Larsen, Rodrigo Gomes, and Pedro Lima (alongside Tommy Doyle being made permanent) and the deadline-day signings of Bastien Meupiyou, André, Sam Johnstone, and Carlos Forbs, signal a commitment to reinforcing the squad with a blend of young potential to compliment the experienced professionals -such as Mario Lemina, Nelson Semedo and Craig Dawson- we already possess. André, in particular, stands out as a potential game-changer, offering the midfield stability that could allow Wolves to adapt more effectively to the demands of the Premier League.

However, the window also leaves a lingering sense of missed opportunities. The failure to secure a top-quality centre-back—a clear necessity for the successful implementation of Gary O’Neil’s high-pressing system—casts a shadow over what might otherwise be seen as an outstanding window. The close call with Trevoh Chalobah, who instead opted for Crystal Palace, underscores the difficulties Wolves faced in landing their primary targets, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that the squad remains one or two key players short of being truly competitive at the highest level.

In comparison to previous seasons, this window falls somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t quite match the strategic clarity of 2018-19, where early planning laid the foundation for a successful campaign, but it also avoids the outright failures of other years. This summer’s business reflects a club in transition, attempting to balance the need for immediate impact with long-term planning, but still searching for the decisive moves that could elevate the club back to the heights of our early seasons in the Premier League. Whether this is the case for any of this summer’s recruits remains to be seen- but there is certainly plenty of promise.

So ultimately, whether this window is remembered as a success or a missed opportunity will depend on how these new signings integrate and perform over the coming months. If Wolves can build on the promise of players like André and Forbs, and if the January window brings the defensive reinforcements so clearly needed, then this summer might yet be seen as a turning point. For now, though, it remains a window of cautious optimism tinged, ever so slightly, with the frustration of what might have been.