With 2024 just around the corner, we have highlighted three Wolves players that need to improve under Gary O’Neil in the new year.
Wolves have had a steady start to life under O’Neil so far this season. After a poor start, the club hit a purple patch after their 2-1 win over Manchester City at Molineux in September.
However, since the last international break, Wolves have been plagued with inconsistency. While VAR has not helped the club in recent games, poor performances have seen losses to Fulham, Arsenal and West Ham.
Issues with injuries haven’t helped the situation with both Pedro Neto and Rayan Ait-Nouri missing games throughout December. Jose Sa has also pulled up injured with David Bentley forced to take his place against West Ham.
With a top-half finish still very much possible by the end of the Premier League campaign, here are three players that will have to improve in 2024.
Max Kilman
The Wolves captain has been at the heart of the club’s defence for the entire campaign so far.
Kilman is the only player not to miss a minute under O’Neil in the Premier League, but this run has been littered with inconsistent performances.
Wolves have only kept two cleansheets in the league all season and have gone behind in their seven of their last eight games.
The majority of these goals have been from silly mistakes and the defence switching off a vital moments.
The club have got into a bad habit of conceding early goals so far this campaign as well. This has been seen against Fulham, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest recently which has really put Wolves in a difficult position.
As captain, Kilman has to ensure this cannot happen. The defender needs to lead the line better and try to cut out silly mistakes that could cost his team.
Hugo Bueno
While the fullback hasn’t started often this season, his performances have left a lot to be desired.
Hugo Bueno was recently given a run in the starting XI after Ait-Nouri’s injury against Fulham.
Mainly utilised in a wing-back role, the Spaniard struggled to match his counterpart’s performances. This often caused opposition to target Bueno seen in the Arsenal game where Bukaya Saka managed to score from his side.
While Ait-Nouri has now returned from the sidelines, the Algerian is also assumed to leave the club in the new year for the African Cup of Nations. The full-back’s form has also seen renewed interest from clubs such as Chelsea.
This could mean that Bueno has an important role to play in the coming months and he will need to find the form that earned him a role in the first team last campaign.
Jose Sa
The ‘keeper was once one of Wolves’ best players at the club.
After signing in 2021, the Portuguese international won the Player of the Season at the club in his first campaign. However, since then, the 30-year-old has struggled to meet those heights.
Sa has let in multiple ‘soft’ goals so far this season which many fans would have expected him to do better. This can be seen in the Nottingham Forest game where he should have been more commanding in his box to prevent the opener.
It is clear Sa still has the ability to be a top goalkeeper. This was evident in his magnificent display in the 1-0 victory over Everton at the start of the season.
Hopefully, Sa will be able to recreate this type of performance in the remainder of the season or Wolves may look to cash in on their number one.