Wolves have thrown up some high-profile transfer blunders throughout their illustrious history, with recent decades arguably throwing up more than most.
The biggest of those blunders was their failure to sign a certain Welsh genius in 2009.
Gareth Bale nearly joined Wolves on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.
Aged 20 at the time, Bale was on the periphery of the action at White Hart Lane and went on to make 23 Premier League appearances that season having struggled to make an impact during his first two years in north London.
Bale may top that list, but Brentford striker Ivan Toney runs him close.
The prolific striker, who makes his return to action this weekend, was supposed to sign for Wolves during his time at Northampton Town in 2014 but the club decided against signing Toney because he had scoliosis in his back.
The list of high-profile stars doesn’t end there, however, with Enzo Fernandez nearing the summit of it.
Did Wolves almost sign Enzo Fernandez?
Now the most expensive player in British history after setting Chelsea back a whopping £106 million in his transfer from Benfica, it could have been a whole lot different if Fernandez signed for Wolves instead.
talkSPORT football correspondent Alex Crook revealed that the Midlands club targeted Fernandez in the summer of 2022 after sending chief scout Matt Hobbs to Argentina to tie up the deal.
The midfielder was playing for River Plate at the time, however, Wolves failed to get the reported £17 million deal over the line, leaving the 22-year-old free to join Benfica.
Fernandez had reportedly already spoken to the Portuguese giants, giving them the advantage in the deal and making it a hapless task for Wolves to convince him to move to England.
Fernandez and Gomes would have formed the perfect partnership
For how hefty his price tag was, the Argentinian hasn’t delivered on enough occasions to warrant that fee, but neither have the majority of Chelsea’s big-money signings.
This shouldn’t taint people’s views on the midfielder. Snapping up for a fee of £17 million in the summer of 2022 would have been a steal and the partnership he could have developed with Joao Gomes is mouth-watering to think about.
Although Gomes and Mario Lemina have been the beating heart of the Wolves midfield, throwing Fernandez into the equation would have given Wolves three quality players to choose from.
The Argentines’ ball-playing abilities coupled with Gomes’ incredible energy and dynamism would have created the perfect partnership.
After all, the Chelsea midfielder has been hailed as “spectacular” by none other than Lionel Messi, so he certainly would have been a huge asset for the Old Gold.
Not only for his footballing qualities but for the fact his value skyrocketed by 523% between Wolves trying to sign him and Fernandez arriving at Stamford Bridge.