Wolves will hope to build on a season that hinted at genuine progress under Gary O’Neil after the former Bournemouth boss was named as successor to Julen Lopetegui just days before the opening game of the campaign.
Despite that late disruption and the little preparation time afforded to the new man in charge, Wolves produced a solid fourteenth placed finish and O’Neil managed to put in place some foundations that will help him moving forwards.
There have already been number of major decisions for the Molineux hierarchy to make during the summer and one of the biggest was to allow Max Kilman to join West Ham United in a deal that brought in over £40m. But what could lie in wait for O’Neil and Wolves over the next month before the window slams shut? We fired up Football Manager 2024, used the editor to update the squad and assessed how the world’s most popular managerial simulation predicts the summer transfer window will pan out at Molineux.
Goalkeepers
There were no changes in O’Neil’s goalkeeping ranks as Jose Sa and Dan Bentley remain at the club and they are backed up by Tom King.
O’Neil’s goalkeeping options: Sa, Bentley, King
Defenders
Now there are changes and some serious ones too! Firstly, the departures and they are led by Toti as he heads to Spain in a £4.5m deal with Espanyol. Ki-Jana Hoever also departs as he returns to the Netherlands to join PSV Eindhoven and the biggest defensive deal sees Nelson Semedo make the short hop across the Midlands to join Aston Villa in a £21m move. In terms of incomings, O’Neil swoops to sign Hertha Berlin centre-back Linus Gechter and Sassuolo’s Greek international left-back Giorgos Kyriakopolous for a combined outlay of £9.5m.
O’Neil’s defensive options: S Bueno, H Bueno, Mosquera, Dawson, Ait-Nouri, Lima, Kyriakopoulos, Gechter
Midfielders
Once again there was a major exit as Jean-Ricner Bellagarde moved to Premier League rivals Crystal Palace and swelled the coffers with £19m. Once again, O’Neil wasted little time in bringing in a replacement as he handed over £27m to land Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay before securing a £14m deal for Watford’s Colombian international Yaser Asprilla. Those deals have left O’Neil with a plethora of options in the heart of his side.
O’Neil’s midfield options: Lemina, Traore, Hodge, Gomes, Doyle, Gomes, Asprilla, McTominay
Forwards
O’Neil oversaw something of a clearout in his forward ranks as Daniel Podence and Pedro Neto moved to Bologna and Villarreal respectively. Those deals brought in a combined £50m and the Wolves boss allowed Pablo Sarabia, Sasa Kaladzjic and Fabio Silva to depart on season-long loan deals. All three will leave on permanent moves at the end of the season with Sarabia joining Athletic Bilbao, Kaladzjic heading to Anderlecht and Silva returning to Portugal with Porto. There was just one new face as Manchester United youngster Amad Diallo joined in a season-long loan.
O’Neil’s forward options: Guedes, Chiquinho, Cunha, Strand Larsen, Hwang, Diallo
Ins
Gomes (£11m from Braga), Lima (£6.5m from Sport Recife), Doyle (£3m from Manchester City), Strand Larsen (loan from Celta Vigo), Asprilla (£14m from Watford), Diallo (loan from Manchester United), McTominay (£27m from Manchester United), Kyriakopoulos (£4m from Sassuolo), Gechter (£5.5m from Hertha Berlin)
Outs
Kilman (£43m to West Ham), Toti (£4.5m to Espanyol), Sarabia (loan to Athletic Bilbao), Kaladzjic (loan to Anderlecht), Bellagarde (£19m to Crystal Palace), Neto (£37m to Villarreal), Semedo (£21m to Aston Villa), Silva (loan to Porto), Cundle (loan to Middlesbrough), Podence (£13m to Bologna), Hoever (£3m to PSV Eindhoven)