Deadline day didn’t yield the results most Wolves fans were hoping for, with no new arrivals to speak of other than an already agreed-upon striker joining.
It’s the latest disappointment in an underwhelming summer for Wolves.
Pre-season was a winless affair, the Premier League season couldn’t be going any worse, and the incomings at Wolves fall far short of matching the outgoing quality.
Fosun and Jeff Shi made certain promises that were not upheld, and manager Vitor Pereira has a right to question the inactivity, especially given the club’s net spend.
Wolves turned a £13.5m transfer profit this summer
A host of important players departed the club this summer.
Matheus Cunha, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo are three massive losses for Pereira, but even the likes of Goncalo Guedes and Fabio Silva’s exits will hurt the depth of the squad.
14 players have departed the club, and just seven have been brought in as replacements.
The figures provided vary from source to source, depending on the inclusion of potential add-ons and Ladislav Krejci’s delayed fee, but wherever you get your numbers, the result is the same.
More sold than spent.
There was room in the budget for at least one more signing, but it was radio silence on September 1st.
Wolves not keeping up with the Premier League teams around them
Just looking at transfers, the club has made a narrow profit, but that doesn’t factor in £123 million central payment received for broadcast and commercial revenues last Premier League season.
When you look at Wolves’ start to the season, seeing the ownership’s lack of ambition and urgency is deflating as a fan.
- READ MORE: Wolves actually did make one very sensible decision despite shambolic end to the transfer window
This season is different. The promoted sides are all off the mark with wins before September, and all three have shown greater ambition than the Old Gold in the transfer market.
There’s running a sustainable model, and then there’s being dangerously frugal. If we get to May, and Wolves are in the bottom three, it won’t be hard to work backwards and identify this disappointing deadline day as the catalyst.