Wolves had a busy end to the January transfer window. The Old Gold made two signings on Deadline Day.
Vitor Pereira wanted a new defender and midfielder, and after Mario Lemina agreed to join Galatasaray, the Wolves manager’s need was heightened.
Wolves signed Nasser Djiga from Red Star and Marshall Munetsi from Stade Reims on Deadline Day for a combined £26.6 million.
The pair, in addition to Emmanual Agbadou, who joined earlier in the window for £16.6 million, made Wolves the Premier League’s second-highest spenders in January.
And now, preparing for an important run of games, including an FA Cup Fourth Round tie against Blackburn and back-to-back away league matches against Liverpool and Bournemouth, Pereira must work out how best to utilise his improved squad.
Nasser Djiga and Marshall Munetsi preparing for first Wolves appearances
Both Djiga and Munetsi have arrived at Molineux injury-free and will be raring to go.
For Djiga though, he is likely to need to bide his time and wait for his opportunity. The defender is only 22 years old and will take some time to adapt to the notoriously fast-paced and physical Premier League.
Munetsi, on the other hand, is expected to make his club debut first. Speaking about the commanding midfielder, Express and Star’s Liam Keen believes fans could soon see the 28-year-old in action for his new side.
“Do I think he’s [Munetsi] necessarily going to start the first game and either Andre or Joao Gomes on the bench? – I’m not sure, but I think he’s going to challenge them very, very intently and intensely,” he said on the E&S podcast.
“He’s a big guy, he’s going to be perfect for what Wolves need, particularly coming off the bench late in games as well. He’s exactly what Pereira needed in terms of midfielder.”
As things stand, Wolves have six senior central midfielders on their books. Boubacar Traore is out with illness, and Pereira doesn’t seem to favour Tommy Doyle, so it would make sense to introduce Munetsi to English football sooner rather than later.
Munetsi could follow in Agbadou’s footsteps
The similarities between Munetsi and Agbadou extend beyond both signing for Wolves in the same transfer window.
Having spent two seasons together in France, the duo are also former teammates. Agbadou and Munetsi had a solid partnership at Stade Reims where they averaged well over 1 point per game.
Not only that, but Agbadou made his Wolves debut in the FA Cup.
The Ivorian centre-back was thrown straight into the deep end in the Third Round against Bristol City, and Munetsi could follow suit if Pereira allows him to feature against Blackburn on Sunday.