Gary O’Neil has pretty much improved every player in his squad at Wolves since he came in just days before the new season – and there is one player who left last summer who may now be regretting his decision to leave.
O’Neil has been a revelation this term, after replacing Julen Lopetegui at the eleventh hour.
Fans were very skeptical about his appointment, which was understandable.
While O’Neil did successfully keep Bournemouth up, there was just a feeling for many that Wolves were going from an elite manager to an inexperienced one.
But O’Neil has made his critics look very silly indeed, with Wolves sitting 10th on 38 points after 27 games played.
One of the biggest achievements for O’Neil so far has been how he’s managed to improve the players.
The forwards, in particular, have been incredible – and one wonders if Adama Traore may just wish he extended his contract…
Adama Traore has had a tough start at Fulham since leaving Wolves
Traore was one of several high-profile departures at Wolves last summer.
He was one of three players who left at the end of their contracts – the others being Joao Moutinho and Diego Costa.
Wolves did reportedly make several contract offers to the player, but he was ultimately unwilling to extend.
The club actually didn’t confirm his exit for a while after his contract officially expired on June 30, seemingly in the hope that he could still extend eventually.
But the winger completed a move to Fulham on a free transfer and so far, it’s been a pretty forgettable stint for the Spaniard, who’ll make his first return to Molineux this weekend as the two teams face off in the Premier League.
A hamstring injury has limited him to just nine appearances so far this term, and he just hasn’t been able to get going.
In the last couple of games though Traore has made an impact for the Cottagers, assisting Alex Iwobi against Manchester United with a trademark powerful run, and scoring against Brighton on Saturday.
Traore may wish he’d stayed at Wolves seeing what Gary O’Neil is doing
Perhaps there was nothing that could have kept Traore at Wolves last summer.
He had been at the club for five years, and had always been on the same contract as when he first signed.
He was never a regular under Julen Lopetegui or Bruno Lage, and he was probably always intent on starting a new chapter.
But surely he has looked at Wolves this season and wondered what might have been, with Gary O’Neil doing a remarkable job in terms of getting results and developing players.
O’Neil has done wonders with Matheus Cunha, Pedro Neto and Hwang Hee-chan especially, and it’s hard not to think about what the Englishman could have gotten out of Traore – famously branded ‘unplayable’ at times by Jurgen Klopp – had he stuck around.
It’s possible there will be feelings of envy there for Traore.
For years at Molineux he really excited supporters, but he also frustrated with his lack of an end product.
O’Neil has managed to improve the end products of Cunha, Hwang and Neto significantly, and it’s something of a travesty that he never got a chance to work with Traore, who probably needed someone like him.
It’s obviously hypothetical. But the fact O’Neil has improved three forward players to the degree that he has surely makes it reasonable to suggest he could also have made Traore so much better.