Wolves had one of the Premier League’s best defensive records for the 2018/19 campaign, but Nuno Espirito Santo will be looking to improve his back five and ex-Brentford defender Yoann Barbet could be an ideal replacement for Ryan Bennett.
The mighty Wolves are in a triple-threat war to secure the 26-year-old’s signature according to Turkish media outlet Asistanaliz.
Aston Villa and Besiktas are the reported opposition, but Fosun should fancy their chances if they’re truly in for the free agent.
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Would Yoann Barbet be a good replacement for Ryan Bennett?
Wolves have a solid back five with Matt Doherty, captain Conor Coady, Jonny Otto, and the brick wall known as Wily Boly, but Bennett is the weak link.
Bennett is by no means a terrible player, but it’s more than apparent that Nuno wants an upgrade.
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Nuno replaced Bennett with Romain Saiss in the middle of the 2018/19 Premier League season, but the former Norwich defender was reinstated after Saiss’ terrible performance in a 3-1 loss to Southampton.
Saiss wasn’t the ideal replacement, but Yoann Barbet could be the upgrade Nuno wants.
Bennett has the better stats from last season with nine clean sheets compared to Barbet’s seven, but the French defender is three years younger than the English wolf.
And Bennett was next to significantly better players than those in the Brentford defence.
Barbet could simply add depth to a thin Wolves squad that wants to make an impact in the Europa league, but he could also easily become a new member of the starting XI.
He’s a free agent so Wolves wouldn’t be taking any risks, and Fosun sorely need to add numbers to the pack.
Aston Villa will be the favourites to land Barbet’s signature thanks to his spell under Dean Smith at Brentford, but the defender will join Wolves if he has any ambition and wants to play European football.