Wolves have now confirmed that Yerson Mosquera has completed a loan move to FC Cincinnati – and officials want him to return to Molineux having perfected his English.
The central defender will now begin a new chapter in his career, after it stalled at Molineux.
Mosquera signed for Wolves in the summer of 2021 from Atletico Nacional, and was the first arrival of the Bruno Lage era.
At £4.5 million, the club felt they had signed a potential star of the future at the time.
But Mosquera has been unable to break into Wolves’ starting XI since he came to the club.
Shortly after arriving, he suffered two hamstring injuries. The second one was a bad one that required him to have surgery.
That injury happened just 10 minutes into his debut for the club against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup.
That remains his last and only appearance for Wolves.
This term, Mosquera has been firmly rooted to the bench, with Nathan Collins and Maximilian Kilman the regular picks. Toti Gomes has been the third choice.
Lage, Steve Davis and Julen Lopetegui have all felt reluctant to give him minutes, and so it has been decided that a loan move is best for him.
Jackson, Wolves’ strategic player marketing manager, said of the club’s decision: “It’s a very competitive, very athletic league. It’s developed massively over recent years and the best players tend to be the forwards, so he’ll be well tested. It’s a brilliant set up at Cincinnati, they have top class facilities to allow him to develop. We’ve tasked him with coming back ready to be fully integrated. He’s made a big impression on everyone here off the field and now we need him to do the same on it.”
Jackson says that Mosquera did have interest in him from clubs in Europe, but felt a move Stateside would be most beneficial. He says the club have tasked him to come back and be a fluent English speaker.
He added: “He was very open to every opportunity, and we talked to a few clubs in Europe. But the work we do isn’t just about on the field, it’s off it – life, integration into society. We’ve tasked him to come back and be fluent in English – it’s details like that we add into the football, so they come back well rounded as individuals and ready to play.
Yerson Mosquera loan move to FC Cincinnati makes more sense following Matt Jackson comments
So Mosquera will now go and play in the MLS and at first, this seemed like a strange move.
Mosquera looked excellent in the pre-season after he first joined the club.
But it seems Wolves have considered other factors in sending Mosquera to the States.
They’ve tasked him with becoming fluent in English, so it makes sense to send him to an environment where that’s the main language.
It also sounds like it’s a good set up at Cincinnati, so hopefully the move will do him good. The most important thing is that he gets back playing regularly.