According to John Percy of The Daily Telegraph, Wolves expect to lose over £65 million in revenue. This hasn’t stopped them from pursuing important additions to strengthen the team, either. Gary O’Neil, the club’s head coach, is especially eager to bolster the lineup with a striker and a winger.
Potential Departures
Wolves’ strategy involves offloading fringe players to free up funds. Recent reports have indicated that Fabio Silva, Jonny Otto and Sasa Kalajdzic are players whose days at Wolves could be numbered as they aren’t in favour with Head Coach Gary O’Neil. The match against West Ham is an indicator or O’Neils lack of trust in the bench as he chose to play Lemina, Dawson and Cunha who had all been ill rather than utilise his bench. Reports indicate there could be some money in the pot to strengthen the Wolves squad but that departures will be necessary too.
Key Targets
Wolves will lose key players in the New Year with Hwang Hee-Chan off to the Asian Cup tournament whilst Rayan Ait-Nouri and Boubacar Traoré could be called up by Algeria and Mali respectively for The African Cup of Nations. Gary O’Neil has stated that Wolves will not look to recruit to cover these absences specifically. However we have to consider how thin the Wolves squad is and we are in need of some January incomings.
Rafiu Durosinmi
One of the primary targets for Wolves is Czech club Viktoria Plzen’s forward Rafiu Durosinmi, valued at £7-10 million. The pursuit of Durosinmi, however, is not without its challenges, as Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt is also in the running. The 20-year-old Nigerian has netted nine times in only 19 matches across all competitions.
Wesley Franca
According to reports, Wolves have made contact with the agent of current Flamengo defender Wesley Franca as O’Neil aims to add some players to his current squad. Barcelona were close to signing the youngster, yet due to financial fair play rules, the move didn’t materialise and this could open up the door for the Old Gold to make their move. Journalist Vitor Beloti, who provided an update on his situation, saying: “Wesley has received inquiries from Brighton, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton and has a chance of leaving Flamengo in 2024.
Josh Brownhill
Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill has been linked with a move to Molineux in January. It’s thought a £7m bid would be enough as he is out of contract in Summer 2024 although Burnley have the option to exercise a 12 month extension clause. Crystal Palace, Fulham and Leicester are also said to be keeping tabs on him. Brownhill has been a bright spark for Burnley this term in Vincent Kompany’s engine room, registering three goals and one assist in 17 appearances across all competitions.