Wolves fans have endured a fairly frustrating past couple of transfer windows because of financial concerns – and it looks like the club may well have missed out on a fantastic young player as a result.
Wolves had to sell off several big-name players in the summer of 2023 to offset the huge spending beforehand.
The likes of Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes, Raul Jimenez and Nathan Collins departed. While high-earning stars Diego Costa, Joao Moutinho and Adama Traore left when their contracts expired.
Wanderers brought in enough money to make a few signings at the end of the window, but it was very much about bringing in as much as possible, and spending as little as possible to balance the books.
In January, Wolves only brought in Noha Lemina on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. The club did try to sign a striker, but the financial situation proved too prohibitive.
Wolves have missed out on players they like as a result of this financial situation.
And it looks as though one young player they were linked with could be a real missed opportunity…
Wolves wanted Adam Wharton, who already looks a snip at £22 million for Crystal Palace
Last summer, it was reported that Wolves were interested in signing Adam Wharton, who was at Blackburn Rovers at the time.
This claim was actually made while the Nunes move to Manchester City was happening, so there was seemingly a chance of Wanderers getting enough cash together to do a deal.
In the end though, a move did not materialise for one reason or another.
Wharton remained at Blackburn, but then completed a £22 million move to Crystal Palace in January. Eyebrows were raised over the fee for a youngster from the Championship, and those eyebrows have very quickly lowered – because Wharton looks the real deal.
The 20-year-old has only made 10 appearances for the Eagles so far, but he has already caught the eye in the Palace midfield.
He put in a tremendous performance on Sunday at Anfield in Palace’s 1-0 win over Liverpool, with Alan Shearer branding him ‘absolutely outstanding’ (via premierleague.com).
He was wonderfully calm and composed in such an intense environment. The press-resistant ability he has sets him apart from a lot of other midfielders around his age, and you can tell by watching him that he idolises Frenkie de Jong and Rodri (via cpfc.co.uk). Both of those world-class players are known for retaining the ball extremely well.
Palace undoubtedly have a player on their hands, and it is just a shame that Wolves were so dictated by their financial situation.
Wanderers did go on to sign Jean-Ricner Bellegarde as Nunes’ replacement and the Frenchman could yet go on to become a successful signing at Molineux. But Wharton does potentially look like one that got away.