Vitor Pereira will get the opportunity to shape the Wolves squad how he likes this summer as he aims to drag his side up the table.
Now that Premier League survival is almost mathematically secure following Wolves 4-2 victory over Tottenham, Pereira can look ahead to the summer transfer window.
On Thursday, Pereira revealed he wants to keep his best players, although there is an acceptance that Matheus Cunha is on his way out of Molineux.
A transfer tug-of-war is set to take centre stage for the Brazilian, with Cunha’s agent already speaking to Manchester United about the £62.5 million deal.
Cunha will, of course, be a massive miss to Wolves due to his individual brilliance and ability to decide games on his own however, he isn’t the only player set for an exit.
Tommy Doyle ‘increasingly likely’ to leave Wolves this summer
Some players have benefitted from the arrival of Pereira while others – namely Tommy Doyle – have struggled to nail down an important role in his plans.
Pereira is concerned about Doyle’s physicality, seeing the Portuguese boss prefer the robust duo of Joao Gomes and Andre as his midfield two with Boubacar Traore even featuring more than the Englishman.
Sunderland were interested in Doyle in January and links to the player are mounting ahead of the summer despite only signing in 2024.
So, with his future seemingly in doubt, Molineux News spoke exclusively to TBR’s football transfer expert Graeme Bailey who gave us the lowdown on what he expects to happen.
“It seems Doyle is increasingly likely to go,” Bailey said. “There’s a lot of Championship interest in him, we’re going to see a fair few Championship players go, so there’s plenty of opportunities for quite a few teams [to sign him].
“He’ll find a club, he’ll be alright, it’s just he’s not particularly suited to Vitor Pereira’s system, that’s just how it is. I think the player is accepting that and that will facilitate his exit.”
A complete turnaround
A year ago, Wolves signed Doyle for £4.3 million after his successful loan spell under Gary O’Neil. That deal for a former England under-21 international was seen as a steal.
| Tommy Doyle’s Wolves stats |
| 58 games |
| 2 goals |
| 1 assist |
The midfield maestro was excited to join the club permanently and was expecting a successful future at Molineux, although his comments from last year haven’t worked out.
“It’s amazing. I’m really happy,” Doyle told Wolves official after signing permanently. “I found out not too long ago what’s going to happen and it’s obviously very exciting for me, having enjoyed this season so far, and I’m looking forward to trying to better what we’ve done next season.
“I’ve known for a little while that there were talks, and the other day it was more official. I’ve enjoyed it here, everyone’s been really great with me, the manager, the staff and especially the lads. It’ll be good to battle in the league again with them next season.”
Wolves fans still rate Doyle and would arguably like him to feature more but as he doesn’t fit into Pereira’s system, an exit looms for the 23-year-old.