At the moment, Wolverhampton Wanderers have three players on their books who are on loan, with the club having options to buy each one.
Rayan Ait-Nouri, Vitinha and Willian Jose are all at Molineux on a temporary basis at the moment, and decisions will need to be made on each at the end of the season.
It hasn’t been a great season for the team, but fortunately there are still plenty of games to be played and there’s a chance the club can finish strongly.
Hopefully the trio can all make significant contributions, but here is the current state of play…
Ait-Nouri
Reported option to buy: £18 million (Express & Star).
The young Frenchman has had a few really impressive outings for Wolves and has shown that he has great feet.
His debut against Crystal Palace, which included a goal, was superb and there have been some real flashes of quality.
However, like with Ruben Vinagre before him, there have been question marks over the defensive side of his game.
With Jonny Castro Otto now back in picture after his knee injury, and Fernando Marcal and Romain Saiss also able to provide cover on the left, Ait-Nouri theoretically won’t get too many more chances to prove his worth.
Young Ryan Giles has also been catching the eye on loan first at Coventry City and then Rotherham United.
CURRENT VERDICT: Permanent signing unlikely.
Vitinha
Reported option to buy: £18 million (Express & Star).
Vitor Ferreira, AKA Vitinha, has been a strange case.
The 21-year-old has undoubtedly shown glimpses of his talent, but has really struggled to gain the trust of the manager, who has handed many minutes to veteran Joao Moutinho at his expense.
His stunning goal against Chorley is his biggest highlight so far, but there will need to be much more where that came from if he is seal a permanent move from FC Porto.
There’s a reasonable chance Wolves will enter the final weeks of the season with nothing to play for in the Premier League, so his game time could well increase.
CURRENT VERDICT: He has work to do.
Willian Jose
Reported option to buy: £22 millon (Express & Star).
Signed in January, Willian Jose is the man Wolves fans hope will score the goals in Raul Jimenez’s absence.
He’s yet to get off the mark after six appearances, but Jose’s link-up play has gone down well with some supporters.
Confidence should soar once he gets that first goal, and hopefully he can then fire Wolves up the table.
He may not have pulled up any trees yet, but one gets the feeling a permanent move for Jose is going to be likely.
His message after departing Sociedad on loan reads very much like a permanent goodbye for some reason, and there was also a report recently claiming the Spanish side are expecting the clause to be triggered.
With Patrick Cutrone likely to be sold, Fabio Silva clearly still very young and inexperienced and nobody knowing how Jimenez will get on when he’s back, there’s surely a good chance of Jose turning his loan move permanent.
CURRENT VERDICT: Permanent signing fairly likely.