Former Molineux defender Ryan Bennett has questioned Wolves’ decision to get rid of Conor Coady and some other experienced players in the summer.
It was all change for Wanderers during the last transfer window.
A number of established and experienced players left Molineux, as exciting players like Goncalo Guedes and Matheus Nunes arrived.
The general feeling once the window had shut was that Wolves had had a good window.
But it’s become apparent that Wolves’ activity a few months ago was questionable.
Wolves moving Saiss, Coady, Willy Boly, Leander Dendoncker, John Ruddy and Fernando Marcal on has seemingly had a major impact on the dressing room.
Wolves appear to be lacking experienced players, characters and leaders.
Saiss suggested in an interview with Talking Wolves recently that Wolves had lost their identity following all the changes.
And now, former Wolves defender Bennett has agreed with his former teammate.
He said in an interview with the Birmingham Mail: “The club is in a different place now to when I was there, and there is always a transition with players leaving and players coming in, and they have still got a really good core group there. They will drive certain things that they have been doing for years.
“But if you look now, is there another Conor Coady in that team? Probably not. Is there another John? Probably not. Sometimes they are underestimated in terms of what they give to the team outside of football. Maybe people are realising that now at that club. I can’t talk badly about any single one of them, they are incredible guys and they have done so well. When I look at it, maybe they did get rid of a few too many too quickly.”
Bennett then pointed to the offloading of Coady as a particularly questionable decision from Wanderers.
“Look at Coads, he’s been at the World Cup, you can’t underestimate that experience. If you are going to buy a player like him you have to go and spend tens of millions. To lose a player like that, and the figures that it is, is incredible really.”
Ryan Bennett is right to question Wolves’ summer transfer activity
It’s hard to argue with what Bennett has said.
Wolves brought in some exciting players in the last window. But the outgoings have had a detrimental impact on the squad.
Beyond Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Jose Sa, there aren’t any real leaders in the dressing room.
It’s a squad littered with talented individuals. But it does feel as though there is now less of an identity than before.
Players like Coady and Saiss just ‘got’ what it meant to play for Wolves. They knew the culture, and were both big personalities.
Julen Lopetegui has to make sure that the players he brings in in January are not only great players, but also good fits for a dressing room that needs characters and leaders.