Wolves sold Rayan Ait-Nouri to Manchester City last week, meaning there’ll be a new face on the left in 2025/26 – or potentially, an old one.
Ait-Nouri completed his move to City and in the end, the move was no real surprise.
Ait-Nouri always had the potential to be sold by Fosun, given how long he’d been at the club.
But there was disappointment over the fee Wolves got for Ait-Nouri, with a number of people feeling it was some way below his actual market value.
Wolves have now got to try and replace the Algerian and his output.
Clement Bischoff is on Wolves’ radar, having impressed over at Brondby.
But Wolves could also turn to Hugo Bueno after his loan spell with Feyenoord – and Pereira has now been handed an encouraging verdict.
Hugo Bueno is Premier League quality as journalist rates his Feyenoord spell out of 10
Bueno spent the 2024/25 season out on loan with Dutch giants Feyenoord, after struggling for starts in 2023/24 under Gary O’Neil.
O’Neil had unwavering faith in Ait-Nouri, making life difficult for Bueno.
The decision was then taken to send the Spaniard out on loan – and Bueno made 30 appearances in total for Feyenoord.
Robin van Persie praised Bueno for the mindset he showed, and now there is more positivity on Bueno, with a Dutch journalist insisting Wolves stand to bring back a player who is Premier League standard.
Mikos Gouka of AD Sportwereld said in a revealing chat with the E&S: “With Ait Nouri gone and with his experience and attacking qualities, he seems to me to be of Premier League level without too many problems.”
He was also asked to rate Bueno’s spell out of 10 but could not give higher than a seven due to the injuries Bueno had. He was limited to 30 appearances in the end, which may well be a slight concern for Vitor Pereira.
“I would say a seven. He has the quality, but Feyenoord had a difficult season as a club with a fired coach and dropping out too quickly for the title fight with Ajax and PSV. Bueno missed too many matches due to injuries.”
Bueno deserves chance to be Ait-Nouri’s replacement
So Bueno had a good and productive spell over in the Netherlands, and Pereira should now look to reintegrate him.
Pereira has said he’ll look at Bueno in pre-season, and hopefully he will make an impression on the Portuguese.
Bueno loves Wolves and sees the club as his home. He is desperate to be a starter, so hopefully he will get his wish.
His injury record is perhaps a slight concern, so perhaps a new left-sided defender will still need bringing in. But Bueno has worked hard and deserves a shot.