Hugo Bueno’s Feyenoord Loan: A Strategic Move?

I’ll begin with the comments made by Sporting Director Matt Hobbs regarding the move:

“It’s a situation that works for all. Some people might think we’re leaving ourselves short, but we’ve got a number of players who can cover in that area of the pitch, and it’s really important for us and Hugo that he goes and plays.”

The fact that Matt Hobbs felt the need to address concerns about “leaving ourselves short” speaks volumes. It is clearly something he and Gary O’Neil have discussed in detail before sanctioning this move.

With that in mind, no matter how I look at it, I find it difficult to support this decision.

Yes, Hugo Bueno will get significantly more game time, but that’s about the only positive I can see—and it’s not much of a positive for Wolves, at least in the short term.

Regarding the cover in that position that Hobbs mentioned: Yes, there’s Toti Gomes, then Matt Doherty, and now it seems, Nélson Semedo (who was tested in the left-back position during pre-season). However, one of these is a natural central defender, and the other two are both natural right-backs. This raises potential issues if key players are unavailable, particularly the need to change the system due to personnel constraints.

On a side note, I’ve also heard suggestions that Rodrigo Gomes could slot in there, as he started last season at SC Braga as a wing-back. However, they got the best out of him when he moved into a more advanced position.

Moreover, that was on the right side, not the left, and he’s definitely a more attack-minded player, so wing-back in a five-man defence would be the absolute limit for his defensive responsibilities. A full-back role on the wrong side in a back four seems out of the question, which suggests he’s not a legitimate option for providing genuine cover or depth.

Overall, I believe there’s a strong counter-argument against Hobbs’ statement, despite it sometimes being easier to just nod along and agree.

The issue with Toti Gomes is that while he’s solid defensively and has performed admirably in a similar role in the past, he clearly doesn’t fit the same mould going forward as Hugo Bueno or Rayan Aït-Nouri. This means if Rayan Aït-Nouri were to suffer an injury or suspension and be out for a few weeks, we’d have to alter the system slightly and rely on overloads on the right side.

Furthermore, I believe it limits our in-game options. If Rayan Aït-Nouri were, for example, on a booking and tiring, we would previously have had the option to bring Hugo Bueno on for a like-for-like change in the last 20 minutes.

Now, it’s going to be a case of either shoehorning a right-back into that position or disrupting the central defensive pairing if Toti Gomes is moved over mid-game. If Toti Gomes then needs to have a run of games at left-back, who’s to say that won’t negatively affect a settled central defensive pairing in which he could well be a crucial part? It’s not ideal, whichever way you look at it, and in my opinion, it has somewhat limited Gary O’Neil’s options.

All in all, it’s a good move for Hugo Bueno, but not so much for Wolves. The argument that Rayan Aït-Nouri will be moved on next summer and Hugo Bueno—on the back of a spectacular season at Feyenoord—will be ready to step straight up and fill his boots is far too speculative for me. Maybe that will happen. But, as far as I’m concerned, at least in the here and now, I think we’ve left ourselves a little short.