Wolves legend Kenny Hibbitt believes the sales of Diogo Jota and Matt Doherty have been key in the club’s sluggish start to 2020/21.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are currently sitting ninth in the Premier League table on 10 points, but are only three off top spot.
Wolves are doing OK so far in terms of results, but performances have left a lot to be desired.
One of the real issues has been the creating of good quality chances and scoring goals, with just six strikes in six games so far.
In the eyes of Hibbitt, who made 574 appearances in 16 years at Molineux, two key sales have contributed to the early struggles.
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He said (Shropshire Star): “I don’t think it’s anything to be too concerned about.
“The fact is that we’ve sold two key players in Diogo Jota and Matt Doherty, and when you’re trying to replace them, that zip and spark slightly goes off until the players coming in get settled and understand how this Wolves team plays.
“So, I’m not too disappointed at the minute. We’ve lost Jota and Doherty who were two quality players who made us a click a bit, and when you lose them, it takes a while.”
Jota, of course, joined Liverpool for £45 million (BBC Sport), while Doherty departed for Tottenham for around £15 million (Independent). Both were key for Wolves in terms of their creativity and ability to score goals.
Hibbitt is correct and Wolves need to adapt
The loss of Doherty and Jota was always going to sting, especially the former.
One would like to hope things will start to click very soon – against Newcastle the club had 16 shots, it’s just about being more clinical.
Nelson Semedo looks like he’s be a good fit a right wing-back, and Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence have both been very lively so far so, the potential for this team to explode is there.