Most of the talk at Wolves has been dominated by the future of Gary O’Neil, but the Old Gold have an emerging issue ahead of Ipswich.
Despite losing three games on the spin against Bournemouth, Everton and West Ham, O’Neil is set to remain in charge for the Ipswich clash at Molineux.
The 41-year-old somehow retains the faith of the board in their perilous position, although Wolves are also eyeing replacements for O’Neil.
Indeed, the likes of Graham Potter and Massimiliano Allegri have rejected Wolves already, and it could be quite some time before they appoint a successor to the Englishman.
While managerial speculation has dominated the headlines, Wolves face a huge relegation six-pointer on Saturday, and O’Neil will be without Brazilian midfielder Joao Gomes for the match.
Gomes is suspended for Ipswich after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against West Ham, leaving a void in the engine room that one player must replace.
Tommy Doyle has a golden chance to impress Gary O’Neil vs Ipswich
In the absence of Gomes, the obvious replacement for the 23-year-old is Tommy Doyle, who has struggled for regular game time this term.
| Wolves midfielders in the Premier League | Minutes played |
| Joao Gomes | 1,276 |
| Mario Lemina | 1,242 |
| Andre | 688 |
| Tommy Doyle | 281 |
Wolves only have four senior central midfield options, but Doyle, who was signed from Man City for £4.3m, has played the least minutes out of his positional peers.
O’Neil has often preferred a double pivot of Mario Lemina and Gomes or a trio with Brazilian international Andre, and the Englishman has rarely had a look in.
That being said, the data suggests the deep-lying playmaker can offer high-quality in-possession having placed in the top 14% of midfielders across Europe for passes attempted per 90 and passes into the final third, per FBref.
In a game of fine margins, perhaps the vision and ball-playing abilities of Doyle can see him take his golden chance and inspire Wolves to victory against Ipswich.
What Pep Guardiola once said about Doyle shows his best is still yet to come
Developing through the Man City and playing with the likes of Phil Foden will have been an excellent experience for the 23-year-old.
The former England under-21 star was highly rated at the Etihad and during a rare cameo for City in a win over Swansea City in 2021, manager Pep Guardiola dubbed Doyle a ‘special’ talent.
“He is a good player, it’s not the first time playing in the games,” Guardiola said.
“He’s a player with a special quality. He takes it, shoots. Another Man City fan. A historic family, the historic Doyle family. The minutes he plays, he plays good, unfortunately in the finishing in the last moment he should have passed the ball to Phil.”
Wolves fans have seen glimpses of his talent last term, with Doyle also impressing against Brighton in October, but those comments on Guardiola suggest the best is yet to come.