As 2023 now comes to a close we examine five lessons Wolves learned over the course of the last 12 months.
It has been a chaotic year for Wolves fans. Many players and managers have come and gone from the club.
With fears of relegation from the Premier League at the start of the year, Gary O’Neil’s side go into 2024 only three points off the European places.
It has been a fantastic rise for a club seemingly in crisis in the summer. However, Wolves are now arguably playing their best football in years.
Now that the year is about to come to an abrupt end, we look at five key lessons the club and fans have learned over the course of the year.
Contracts are vital
Contracts played a massive role in Wolves transfer business in 2023. However, these were mainly for the wrong reasons.
Several players were forced to depart the club in the summer due to their contract situations. Joao Moutinho and Adama Traore both left on free transfers while Wolves were forced to cash in on captain Ruben Neves to avoid a repeat next summer.
Even Nelson Semedo wasn’t completely out of the woods, with the club almost forced to release him before triggering his contract extension.
Wolves have seemingly learned this lesson now with multiple first-teamers signing new deals throughout the course of the season.
Now, no player who has made an appearance this season has a contract expiring in the summer, proving Wolves have learned their lesson quickly.
Wolves can’t overspend in 2024
FFP plagued the summer window. Few signings were made by the club while a huge number of players left on a permanent basis.
The origins of this came in the previous January window where Wolves spent a hefty amount on new players in order to survive the drop. Pablo Sarabia, Matheus Cunha, Joao Gomes, Mario Lemina and Craig Dawson all joined the club which put a strain on the financial muscle the club had in the summer.
If this is to be avoided again, Wolves must ensure that they stick to budgets and do not look to overspend in a single window again in 2024.
Wolves still can’t play with a back four
A back five was Wolves’ most used system for years upon moving to the Premier League. However, after finding much success using the formation the club opted to move away from it which never saw similar results.
At the start of the campaign, O’Neil continued this trend which saw few positive results. This was until he changed to a back five in the league against Man City which resulted in a 2-1 win.
From here, this form has continued, the only exception being a 3-0 loss to West Ham. Coincidently, in this game, Wolves changed to a back four which was a big reason for the surprising loss.
Rayan Ait-Nouri is vital to Wolves’ future success
By the summer, it looked as if Rayan Ait-Nouri’s career at Wolves may be coming to an abrupt end. Julen Lopetegui froze the fullback out and much preferred either Toti Gomes or Hugo Bueno on the left side of his defence.
However, upon the appointment of O’Neil, the Algerian was given a new lease of life at the Molineux club and has certainly taken it.
So far this season, the fullback has been one of Wolves’ best players and was certainly missed at the start of December when he was injured.
With Ait-Nouri only being 22 years old, the decision to sell the defender almost looks baffling now. The Algerian could easily be in the team for the next 10 years on current form and fans are certainly glad he stayed around.
Never underestimate Matt Hobbs
After a turbulent summer, many eyes were on Sporting Director Matt Hobbs. The former Wolves scout appointed O’Neil as the successor to Lopetegui, helped negotiate Nunes’ sale, brought in multiple faces as well as signed off plenty of new contract extensions.
A lot of Wolves’ success so far this season can be attributed to Hobbs despite many of his decisions being controversial at the time.
Now with the club flying high and aiming upwards in the Premier League, it is fair to say that fans cannot underestimate Hobbs going into the new year.