Wolves remain in a rather perilous position in the Premier League, currently sitting in 17th place of the table. It could prompt club officials to spend some more money before the February 3rd deadline.
Wolves could see their eight-year stay in the Premier League come to a bitter end in 2025. Vitor Pereira has taken over a team in dire form and in need of a lot of work. But there’s been some positivity in this January window.
Earlier in the month, Wolves completed the £16.6.million signing of Emmanuel Agbadou from Reims and the club don’t look as though they’ll stop there. On Thursday night it was revealed that Wolves are interested in Johnny Cardoso at Real Betis who could command a fee of up to £21million.
Cardoso could even solve Pereira’s search for a new midfielder, too. Wolves are desperate to sign a central midfielder before the February 3rd deadline but they’re not having much luck in said search so far.
But Wolves may just need to look down a league to find their man.
- READ MORE: Rayan Ait-Nouri reveals something Vitor Pereira can do that helps a lot of Wolves players
Race to sign Sunderland star Dan Neil is heating up, he’d be perfect for Wolves
Just a few days ago, Wolves’ Premier League rivals Everton were linked with a move for Sunderland academy graduate and captain Dan Neil. Soon after, it was revealed that West Ham are also keen on the 23-year-old, who already has a staggering 177 appearances for his boyhood team.
What’s more is that Neil would only cost Wolves £15million which would make him a whole lot cheaper than Cardoso. Although inexperienced in the Premier League, Neil has become one of the Championship’s best passers and playmakers, having been in stunning form for Sunderland in 2024/25.
He’s played a key role for the Black Cats, leading them out in 27 Championship games so far, with one goal and three assists to his name.
Dan Neil stats vs Joao Gomes in 2024/25
Earlier in his career, Neil was compared to Manchester United legend Michael Carrick. And the similarities remain: Although not a physical midfielder, Neil does control the flow of games with his simple yet effective passing, and his bursts forward too.
And Neil’s stats in this 2024/25 show how he’s been controlling games. Below is a table comparing some key midfield passing stats between Neil and Wolves’ chief playmaker Joao Gomes:
| Statistic | Dan Neil | Joao Gomes |
| Expected Assists | 0.85 | 1.27 |
| Touches-per-game | 57.9 | 57.9 |
| Key passes-per-game | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Acc. passes-per-game | 37.9 (84%) | 36.3 (85%) |
| Acc. passes-per-game (own half) | 17.8 (90%) | 16.1 (89%) |
| Acc. passes-per-game (opp. half) | 20.1 (79%) | 20.5 (80%) |
| Acc. long balls-per-game | 2.6 (54%) | 1.7 (57%) |
| Acc. chipped passes-per-game | 1.7 (60%) | 1.5 (56%) |
| Acc. crosses-per-game | 0 (8%) | 0.1 (29%) |
Neil has higher averages than Gomes in five of the nine above stats, with both recording the exact same number of average touches-per-game.
Albeit playing in the Championship and in an impressive Sunderland side, Neil is outperforming Gomes in 2024/25. It’s of course a huge step up to the Championship but a lot of Premier League clubs have had success in poaching players from the second tier.
Crystal Palace in particular; they’ve signed the likes of Ebere Eze, Michael Olise, and Adam Wharton from Championship clubs, and all have flourished in the Premier League.
Wolves might want someone for the here and now, and Neil could be a help. But he’s more one for the future which, in the long run, is what Wolves need the most.