Former Wolves manager Gary O’Neil will be watching from afar, wondering how one thing at Molineux still hasn’t been resolved.
It’s incredible to think that Wolves could finish as high as 13th this season, given that at the time of Vitor Pereira’s arrival, the Old Gold were five points from safety.
Pereira has turned things around at Wolves, not only to confirm survival, but to show that there can be good times ahead at Molineux.
The Wolves manager’s job is about to get more difficult as the West Midlands club are set to lose some key players in the summer, including club captain Nelson Semedo.
- READ MORE: Vitor Pereira has worrying trend to resolve at Wolves as ‘excellent’ player set to leave Molineux
Gary O’Neil wanted Matt Hobbs to extend Nelson Semedo’s contract
Wolves want Semedo to stay beyond the expiration of his contract, as his current deal expires at the end of the 2024/25 season.
The Portugal international has been attracting interest, as Semedo’s boyhood club Benfica are eager to reconnect with their former player.
With only two games of the campaign remaining, things still aren’t clear regarding the right-back’s future, which is quite staggering considering how long the saga has gone on for.
Pereira wants to keep Semedo, and he wasn’t the only manager to be ‘desperate’ for the defender to extend his stay at Molineux, as O’Neil explained this time last year.
“Nelson’s had an incredible season, and for what we look to do with our full-backs, Nelson has been incredible for us. He is one I’m desperate to keep around,” O’Neil said in a press conference.
“I would love Nelson to be here for as long as possible. Those things are more Matt Hobbs than me, but of course I’ll have an input on them.”
Wolves’ sporting director, Matt Hobbs, still hasn’t found a solution with Semedo, as the captain looks set to walk out the door as a free agent.
Last summer, O’Neil made it clear how important Semedo was to his project, with it no surprise that Pereira shares the same sentiment.
Replacing Semedo won’t be easy for Wolves
Semedo appears to be open to staying at Wolves, but what is going on behind the scenes points to a difficult situation.
The club captain is wanted by his manager and the club, but just how far are Wolves prepared to go to keep the 31-year-old on board?
Semedo’s wages are a problem for Wolves, being one of the Old Gold’s highest earners on a weekly salary of around £80k.
Admittedly, in football, you don’t always get what you pay for, but with Semedo, Wolves do, being a player whose experience and leadership qualities make him essential to Pereira.
Finding a positional equal to the Portugal international isn’t the problem, as locating an individual capable of succeeding the defender’s off-field duties as a teammate and captain is far more difficult.
O’Neil made no mistake in communicating his concerns regarding Semedo’s contract running down, and a year on, the situation appears to have only become more critical.