Wolves’ 2021 is almost at a close and plenty has happened at Molineux over the course of the last 12 months.
The likes of Jose Sa and Max Kilman have had strong 2021/22 campaigns so far, but who has been the club’s best player across the calendar year?
We have had a look and it is hard to escape the conclusion that it is Ruben Neves…
It is easy to get complacent about Neves’ quality now it has been on show at Molineux for so many years.
But he has shifted from Nuno Espirito Santo’s reactive style, which is not really the best fit on paper for a small, technical player like him to Bruno Lage’s approach.
That has put more emphasis on him to be physical and press the ball, while also maintaining his quality in possession.
He has also given Wolves fans arguably their best moment of the whole year with the stoppage time free-kick to win the game at Villa Park.
He has been described as ‘absolutely phenomenal’ by former Wolves midfielder David Edwards and it is hard to disagree.
Carl Ikeme has also weighed in with deserved praise and Lage has also hailed him for his desire to raise standards at Wolves and go to the next level.
Neves could easily have left Wolves in the summer but he stuck around and that is to the benefit of everybody at the club.
Others may have shone more briefly and more briefly but nobody has been more consistent than Neves over the course of 12 months.
- Carlos Forbs makes upsetting admission about his loan season at Wolves
- Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri are not the only past mavericks Wolves are missing
- Wolves and Liverpool interested in Portuguese defender who could leave for cut-price fee
- Tim Sherwood claims there’s one Premier League team worse than Wolves this season
- Wolves’ biggest regret of the summer stuck warming Premier League club’s bench