Wolves find themselves in a worrying predicament defensively at the moment.
It was recently confirmed by the club that Yerson Mosquera has sustained an ACL and MCL injury, and the Colombia international will be out for the rest of the season.
This leaves Wolves even shorter than they already were, after failing to sign a replacement for Max Kilman.
Gary O’Neil now has just three senior options until January, and one of those is a 34-year-old Craig Dawson.
As good as Dawson still is for his age, there are question marks over how much he will be able to play.
Without doubt, Wolves need to sign a new centre-back in January.
One man who has been linked with Wolves recently is Adam Webster, who could genuinely be a top signing.
Adam Webster is exactly what Wolves need, amid transfer claims
There were rumours recently on social media that Wolves pulled out of a deal to sign Brighton defender Adam Webster in the summer.
These were dismissed by Liam Keen on the latest E&S podcast episode. But the journalist reports there is indeed interest from Wolves, who have discussed the player internally.
He suggested it is not out of the question that Wolves could look into signing him in January.
And it’s something the club should definitely consider doing.
Webster has lost prominence at the Amex Stadium in recent times, but he remains a very capable Premier League centre-back.
The main reason Wolves should be looking to bring him in is because of the fact he is a great ball-player. In January 2022, Jamie Carragher wrote on X that he felt Webster was the best English ball-playing defender around.
Since the start of the 2022/23 season, Webster’s pass completion rate has not dropped below 88% in any competition he has played in for Brighton (via WhoScored), which is very impressive.
He’s someone who prides himself on being accurate with the ball at his feet.
We know Gary O’Neil wants Wolves playing out from the back. So far this season, we have seen the team struggle to do this.
There is a real lack of composure and technical quality at the back with the current options, making Webster a potentially attractive option. If you want to build from the back effectively you need the right personnel, and having played for Brighton for years, Webster knows how it should be done.
He is also fairly solid in the air. As per fbref data, Webster is in the 79th percentile for aerial duels won per 90 (2.72) over the past 365 days. The star is also a good reader of the game, and is in the 83rd percentile for interceptions per 90 (1.46).
What’s more, Webster is somewhat of a goal threat, having scored eight goals in 142 games for Brighton.
Webster may be hard to sign
Webster could be a tricky deal to do in January.
Transfer deals are generally always harder to do in January, as clubs don’t want to lose players.
There are currently no suggestions of how much Brighton would want for Webster. He may not be first-choice right now, but we’ve all seen how the Seagulls operate when it comes to selling.
But Wolves are in a concerning place at the moment, and a new centre-back in January is essential, especially in light of the Mosquera news.
One potential positive for Wolves here is that £55,000-a-week man Webster would only have 18 months left on his contract in January, which may force Brighton to at least come to the table.
If there is any possibility that Webster could be on the move in the next window, then Wolves should be all over it.