Wolves concluded their transfer business with three additions, sealing two of their signings on deadline day.
Having signed Emmanuel Agbadou earlier on in January, Wolves left it late to capture centre-back Nasser Djiga and midfielder Marshall Munetsi.
Wolves signed Djiga for £10m from Red Star Belgrade and Munetsi cost £16.6m from Stade Reims, bolstering two positions in Vitor Pereira’s squad.
They weren’t the only two players on Pereira’s radar heading into deadline day as Wolves saw a £12.5m bid rejected for Thomas Kristensen, Udinese’s defensive stalwart, and the Old Gold also tried to sign another midfielder.
Wolves wanted to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Hidemasa Morita
According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, Wolves considered signing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Hidemasa Morita in the transfer window.
The report claims that the Wanderers made an approach for the Japan international in January, although they were unwilling to pay more than €10m (£8.3m) for the 29-year-old.
Pereira also knew that Sporting wanted to renew Morita’s contract and therefore didn’t advance in their pursuit with his current deal expiring in 2026.
Interestingly, the Portuguese giants have put his contract renewal on the back burner, with it suggested that failure to secure his future before the end of the season could see Wolves return for him in the summer.
How Morita compares to Marshall Munetsi
With Mario Lemina set to depart for Galatasaray, Pereira knew he had to sign a replacement for the Gabon international.
Morita was of interest to the Old Gold but they instead landed on Munetsi, who they worked hard to capture after travelling to France to ensure the deal was done on deadline day.
Wolves fans were impressed with the addition of Munetsi and he’s set to become the physically imposing presence Pereira has craved in his midfield.
That being said, perhaps the Portuguese manager wouldn’t have gone for the Zimbabwe international if they captured Morita and the statistics explain why they made the correct decision.
| Statistics per 90 past year | Marshall Munetsi | Hidemasa Morita |
| Non-penalty xG | 0.20 | 0.02 |
| Non-penalty goals | 0.19 | 0 |
| Shots total | 1.71 | 0.39 |
| Touches (att pen.) | 2.88 | 0.39 |
| Tackles | 2.16 | 2.56 |
| Aerials won | 2.06 | 0.98 |
As delineated by the above table, Munetsi is much of a goal threat than Morita and he looks like someone who can occupy dangerous pockets of space in the final third.
Alongside Munetsi’s strength and power in midfield, the 28-year-old is also technically proficient, beating the Japanese international across numerous metrics.