Tommy Doyle’s time at Wolves is coming to an end as Birmingham City close in on signing the midfielder.
Very few would’ve predicted that the 23-year-old would be on the move so soon after signing a permanent deal at Wolves.
It was only last summer that Doyle completed a £4.3m transfer from Manchester City to make his move to Molineux permanent.
Now, Doyle is set to sign for Birmingham City on loan for the 2025/26 campaign, with reports claiming that the loan could include an option to buy.
The situation has been an unfortunate one for the midfielder, as Vitor Pereira doesn’t see a future for Doyle at Wolves.
Amid the news of the Englishman’s pending exit, Wolves fans shared their opinion on the proposed transfer, and it’s fair to say the verdict was split.
Wolves fans react to Tommy Doyle to Birmingham City transfer links
Doyle has been linked to an array of Championship clubs, but it appears that the Blues are the side in the driving seat.
Reacting to the possibility of the loan including a purchase option clause, one Wolves fan predicted that the Old Gold could quickly regret sanctioning Doyle’s exit.
“This will come back to bite us big time.”
Another supporter shared a similar verdict, being against the possibility of a permanent exit, “Was hoping it was just a straight loan so Wolves could assess next year.”
A ‘damn shame’, was how others described the pending deal, as appreciation for the midfielder flooded in.
“Damn shame. Wish him well. 50% City sell-on clause, so needs to be a very decent fee. Minimum £8m just to get our money back, which is unlikely.”
“So gutted, never seen him have a bad game in a Wolves shirt. deserves so much better.”
“I’ll forever love you TD, rate him highly.”
While fans upheld their high respect for Doyle, opinion on the transfer was split, as others raised the question of whether the 23-year-old is at the level required to be a Premier League regular.
“I like Tommy but he’s never gonna be the first choice starter, and tbf a proper squad, he wouldn’t get in. Harsh facts, he’s a championship player.”
The opinion was echoed by a supporter who compared the midfielder to former Wolf Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.
“Tommy Doyle is in the Ebanks-Blake zone, too good for the championship, but not quite got what he needs to be a prem player.”
Other fans shared the same view as Pereira on Doyle’s physicality, noting it as an absent trait that sees him fall under the Premier League threshold.
“Think Doyle is tidy, technically good and has a decent shot, but he’s a bit overrated by our fans tbh. Can see why Pereira doesn’t want to play him, he is quite slow and carries little physical presence. He’s not so good to make up for that at top level, but is good for champ.”
“Great player but never getting in ahead of Andre & Joao Gomes. Technically he’s superb & has a good range of passing but he isn’t mobile or physical enough for a 2 man midfield at PL level.”
Doyle situation is awkward for Wolves financially
In normal instances, a £4.3m transfer failing would be difficult to digest, but not a catastrophe by any means.
Unfortunately, Doyle’s situation differs from the norm due to Manchester City’s power over their former player.
City have a 50% sell on fee with Doyle, making anything below a deal in the region of £8m under the zone of offering the Old Gold a profit.
As one fan raised, it’s unlikely that Wolves will get a fee as high as £8m for Doyle, meaning that money is likely to be lost in the process of offloading the midfielder – if, of course, the rumours of an option to buy are true.