Wolves have been left in a difficult situation ahead of the Premier League run-in as Gary O’Neil continues to navigate how to get the best from his shrinking squad.
Gary O’Neil faces an uphill battle to ensure that Wolves finish as high up the table as possible this season, as the Old Gold’s squad shortages have finally caught up on them.
Going into the 2023/24 campaign, it was always known just how small the squad at Molineux was, as Fosun were unable to facilitate new signings in the summer of 2023 to fill the gaps left by key departures.
Financial restrictions not only highly impacted Wolves’ squad size and depth, but saw Julen Lopetegui leave his post just days prior to the start of the season.
One positive is that the Spaniard’s departure allowed O’Neil to take the reins however, the Englishman is now seeing just how difficult the squad shortages are, with one player being greatly affected.
Leon Chiwome is suffering at the expense of Wolves’ squad shortages
In the last two Premier League fixtures, O’Neil has resulted to fielding academy jewels in order to boost the numbers in attack.
With Hwang Hee-chan, Pedro Neto and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde injured and Matheus Cunha just returning from his absence, the manager has had little resources to work with, seeing Leon Chiwome called into action.
The 18-year-old has struggled to impose himself since coming into the side, which is both understandable and ‘sad’, as echoed by journalist Nathan Judah, who spoke about the situation on Episode 334 of the E&S Wolves Podcast.
“He’s [Chiwome] done as well as he could have done in the last two games, he’s not really done too much right, he wasn’t terrible, he just was fine.”
“He got caught offside a few times, slowed the play down but probably did better than Nathan Fraser did against Coventry, but what more do you expect?”
“This guy is out of his depth, but so he should be at this level at this moment in time, it’s a sad state of affairs when we’re putting the trust and hope of a potential season in an 18-year-old kid’s hands.”
With only three senior appearances in his blossoming career, it would be naive to expect the teenager to make the impact required at this point in Wolves’ season.
Gary O’Neil is making the most out of a difficult situation at Wolves
O’Neil’s squad is dangerously low on depth even when all of his players are fit, let alone when a host of key names are absent.
It’s an almost impossible situation for the manager to navigate at present, hence the inclusion of the likes of Chiwome and Nathan Fraser, who have been forced to step up so early in their careers.
The boss made no hesitation to address the current issues that his squad are facing after the 1-1 draw with Burnley, addressing Fosun to hammer home just how much the club needs to invest in bolstering the depth this summer.
It’s a shame for all of O’Neil’s, and the squad’s, hard work this season to come to a point of fighting for results against the odds due to their lack of depth however, all hope is not lost as if there’s anything this team can do, it’s overcome adversity.