Wolves are a couple of days away from starting a new Premier League season – and Lee Naylor believes the club have suffered a ‘massive’ loss this summer.
Gary O’Neil is hoping to build on last season’s effort, which culminated in a 14th-placed finish in the Premier League.
There were some very good signs last term, and Wolves were unlucky to finish as low down as they did. Injuries rather spoiled things in the final third of the campaign, and some VAR decisions also cost the team points.
There is optimism heading into the new season.
But Wolves have a tough start, with Arsenal at the Emirates first up on Saturday.
Wolves’ transfer business this summer has been OK, but Lee Naylor believes one sale could really end up stinging O’Neil.
Lee Naylor fears for Wolves after Max Kilman sale
Earlier this summer, Wolves sanctioned the £40 million sale of Max Kilman to West Ham United.
As the player only cost £40,000 six years ago, this deal was widely praised.
However, former full-back Naylor does not subscribe to the idea that losing Kilman – even for that amount of money – was a good thing.
He has some concerns about the shape of the squad at the moment, and he believes the loss of Kilman could be more significant than most people realise.
He told the club’s official website: “Losing Max is massive. I can’t tell you. For me being a (former) defender, he was the main guy. Losing him is massive. Replacing him is going to be an even bigger job. People have got to step up and that’s where I’m a bit nervous.
“I don’t want to be disrespectful, but what’s in the building at the moment is not as good as Max.”
Wolves must land an experienced and durable defender
Many Wolves fans were fairly pleased with the Kilman sale, because £40 million was a great fee for someone who is not capped at international level.
A huge profit was made on him, and it was a deal that suited all parties in the end.
But Naylor may well be right. If Wolves now stand still, the sale of Kilman could end up stinging more than it needs to.
At the end of the day, he was an ever-present for O’Neil and he also had some great qualities such as breaking the lines and carrying the ball out of defence.
Wolves are in talks to sign young French defender Bastien Meupiyou at the moment, but it is paramount the club also bring in a defender with a good level of experience and also some with a good injury record.
Someone like Nico Elvedi from Borussia Monchengladbach could be good given he’s played in the Bundesliga for many years now and is a great ball-player like Kilman.