08 Jul 2025 13:17:07
Strangely there have been very few posts on here about the club's summer transfer dealings so far this year.
On other sites there are literally hundreds of pages of posts on the subject.
There is largely a consensus that whilst Wolves haven't done much - Lopez being seen as a Sarabia replacement rather than a first 11 player and JSL was really last year not this - it is still early, not many other teams have done much and Wolves are still far far too good to be worried.
Clearly some of this is true. Roughly half the teams in the Prem have done very little and it is only the second week in July.
But it is totally untrue to say Wolves have done very little.
Wolves are probably the team who have altered their team's prospects the most in the entire league!
Whilst circa 8 teams - largely the usual subjects - the rich getting richer - have markedly improved, 2 teams Bournemouth ( who have lost 2 of their back 4) and Wolves are markedly weaker.
In case you have forgotten whilst adding v little Wolves have lost their 2 best players and seemingly the captain.
Given that Wolves were 16th last season are Wolves now, as a markedly weaker team, far far too good to be worried.
At the moment - and it is still only the second week in July - surely Wolves are fighting for 17th at best.
I await substantial dealings - both in and out - over the next couple of weeks.
Thoughts?

1.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 14:26:01
Well we have to assume that the club in general and Jeff in particular know what they are doing…oh hang on, what am I saying? This is Wolves we are taking about perennially run for the majority of the last 50 odd years by people who frankly, haven’t known their ar**s from their elbows.
I hope I’m wrong but I fully expect it to continue the way of the last three years or so. Getting by on a shoestring. No real ambition other than premiership survival, spending if and when we need to in order to get out of trouble, relying on other teams to be even worse and eventually sooner or later getting relegated.
Apart from the Sir Jack era and the first few years under Fosun, ‘no real ambition’ pretty much sums up the club since the late 70s.
Don’t slag me off for my negativity - it’s not negativity, it’s resigned realism. I love this club and desperately want it to succeed but that is my honest considered opinion.
I do hope I’m wrong though. ?

2.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 14:28:20
It's a bit like a child waiting for Christmas, hoping that he gets everything he wrote to Santa about even though some of his requests were a bit expensive and resigned to getting some things that will end up in the toy box one week later.

3.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 15:03:59
I have wrote on here just last week about lack of transfer activity for in comings.Been shot down we have plenty of time it's only 1st week of July preseason starts Wolves have signed 1 player.But Our CEO Jeff Shi knows what he's doing because it was his fault last season when we struggled. Now he's back and still the same 1 signing 6 players have left either sold end of contract or loan but not problem Jeff Shi knows.

4.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 15:17:18
As Future says above, with the current squad 17th is the highest we can hope for, think this is a fair assessment. 8th July so still early, we all know Wolves never make things easy or relaxing for us supporters. I just hope that VP is content the way things are going, surely they have players in mind and VP is aware of them. With our previous summers of transfers or lack of, think everyone is apprehensive and understandably so.

5.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 15:45:18
I've noted several rumours that Forest may be losing Elanga and Gibbs-White. If so, that would be serious weakening. Nuno was already unhappy with the owner's antics. Little consolation to us that we would get a sell-on cut of the Gibbs-White deal.

6.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 15:53:31
In fairness Tfig the events in Spain and associated portugul may have stalled movements, but we've certainly been linked here there and everywhere and as normal not likely to succeed.
No doubt some make weight signings will arrive, but what was looking exciting seems to be rolling into the same old story, and we're so accustomed to it now.
Our concerns now seem more will VP walk away.

7.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 15:56:15
Yes Anlanga going to Newcastle Gibbs White going now where.

8.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 16:47:54
I am also getting concerned about lack of signings especially seeing all the promoted teams making plenty of signings

9.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 17:01:01
You are all panicking it 8th July the first week of preseason we still have 30 players in our squad its not like we have no one.
Yes Cunha has left but we have signed Lopes who can play with Larsen.
Also Bueno has returned from loan so replaced RAN in the squad.
Don't get me wrong I expect 6-10 players to come in but also expect more movement by the end of next week with players returning from holidays etc after periods with their countries.
The shopping list for me is
x2-cb (one central cb and one and lcb)
x1-lb
x1-rb (assume Semedo has gone)
x1-CM to replace Doyle
x2 Forwards
x1 striker

They could really shuffle the pack though as there are players that have been here a while and it has got to easy for them Hwang, Guedes, Silva, Traore etc.

Maybe more talented youngsters brought in.

10.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 17:22:58
?????????

11.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 17:41:45
My expectation is that it will all be last minute in order to get cheaper deals, never mind the quality feel the width!

12.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 17:43:34
By the way Madman if that is your expectation then your name is more than appropriate.

13.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 18:07:54
Nick 1960, promoted teams usually make a lot of signings, scattergun approach. Then they go straight back down.

14.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 18:34:24
Why's that Mike?
If Cunha, Sarabia, Hwang, Silva, Guedes, RAN, Semedo, Djiga and Doyle leave that's us 9 short on last season? Yes Silva was out on loan but still that's another replacement leaving.
We have signed one replacement in Lopes and you could argue Bueno and Mane are squad players.
It's not unreasonable to assume there will be a replacement for Cunha and RAN.
I do think Vitor has a few ideas though I think he will want more fluidity in formations so he can change games whilst also having players that control games which is what he brought both tactically and with his signings in January.

15.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 18:52:26
Madman - I always enjoy your posts which tend to be sensible and balanced.
I also acknowledge that as you say it is still relatively early. But you yourself say Wolves need a raft of new players, personally i'd add a new back up GK as well, as well as needing to move on a fair few as to both help fund the new players and make overseas spots available in the squad.
Trading/signing that many players, of the requisite quality and within the overseas allowance, is an absolute mountain to climb. Given Wolves very poor track record over the past few seasons - the squad axiomatically has got weaker and weaker with the passage of time - it is one that I find hard to believe Wolves have much hope of scaling, particularly in the remaining under 6 weeks of the off season.
I sincerely hope you are correct and Wolves buy 4 or 5 players in the next fortnight and sell a similar number.
Sadly however I am just not sure that this is realistic?
Do you really believe that next week Wolves will have broken the back of the task facing them?
However I was shocked to read you voice the idea that Lopez and Bueno are the replacements for Cunha and RAN. I had hoped that even Jeff would not voice that.
Replacing your best two players with 2 very young men who have so little experience in senior football let alone the Prem would be extremely bold.
I'm happy to reluctantly accept Bueno as the initial choice for LWB, accepting that it would be a major downgrade from RAN, but given the risks associated with that option I would want a highly credible alternative to be included in the squad as well.
However going forwards with Lopez as anything other than an option that might be tried out i.e. without a further not one but two new number 10s, (Munetsi and Bellegarde don't count!) out of the top draw - or as close to it that Wolves can expect to be - would in my view be insanity.

16.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 19:00:49
Whats the odds. We don't sign anyone else. All false dawns as usual
I hope not

17.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 19:30:05
Never mind we have got TWO new coaches! The way it's going all the players we have will have a coach each. Back room staff outnumber the players.

18.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 19:53:02
Hope not Greylegwolf, we better make some signings. People keep saying we need to be patient, but difficult with what has happened previously. Keep hoping for good news in the next week or so, a good signing out of the blue will make everyone feel better. ??

19.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 20:16:06
Its obvious we are really short in squad depth.with even more players set to leave.and no sign of any new players coming in.the bench is even weaker let alone the first team.vp will walk away if no new quality signings are made and so we are reliant on just being better than the3promoted teams.even gon said if you keep weakening your first11 eventually you go down.only a matter of time then

20.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 20:34:18
Thefutureisoldgold-same chap its good to have debates on certain parts of the club and team. Just feel some posters have let themselves and the club down the past week where the focus shouldn't and wouldn't have been on transfers with respect. There was posters over the weekend of Jota's funeral which leaves a bitter taste in my mouth really there really is more to life than football and most definitely getting a few signings in early doors.
Its Tuesday 8th July not Friday 15th August. Time is with us and many target will be on extended holidays or have just finished playing the club world cup.

My personal view is that the club knew they were safe at Easter which has given them time to discuss and plan this transfer window in detail. Hence Teti and the new coaching staff coming in and Hobbs being moved out.
I think 5 players have been sorted and I reckon before Lopes was signed. I think the club had to get the deal done quite quickly with other clubs moving in on Lopes.
I think the GK is a tough position to change to be honest if you change it you need a quality keeper lined up and I'm not sure that would be a priority as SA seems happy under Vitor which is a stark contrast to the end of GON.
I agree the numbers do seem high but again I think they have been planning and working together since Easter on the plans for this preseason. The issues over the past few years have been around PSR and resolving the accounts after keeping expensive squads that weren't performing like Moutinho's, Rauls and Traores last two seasons weren't great although they had a great couple of years at the club.
I think its interesting that they have let Doyle and Johnstone go as that means they must have some homegrown players lined up.
I didn't say they were replacements I just don't believe this illusion that we have no players which is a folly.
Bueno is a decent lb to be fair and I do enjoy his effort. Lopes is a no 10 which is what Vitor wants so surely that shows there is a plan of the types of players the club are targeting to suit Vitor's style.
Also Lembiska is returning at rb and I always thought he did a decent job when were were struggling a few years back so it might be interesting to see him come into the team. And Mane has a lot of expectation on his shoulders so I am excited to see how Vitor decides to bring him into the team.
I agree with the experience and as I said those main positions I would like some sort of experienced replacements brought in and turning the squad round so other players go out on loan or possibly sold like Guedes and Hwang. But I also wouldn't be surprised if Silva stays weirdly as he comes from Porto like Vitor.
So I think there is a lot going on behind the scenes let's see what happens the next 10 days.

21.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 20:50:19
Wake me up when it's over, Wolves never clarify who they're after so the rumours in the media are usually just that.

22.) 08 Jul 2025
08 Jul 2025 21:54:21
Buxwolf-I love the pessimism. :) But as a comparison when you look at the wolves squad last summer it was a very strong squad by all accounts and we were mainly looking forward to a fully fit squad under GON.
The squad:
GK: Johnstone (1st choice last summer), Sa and Bentley
RWB: Semedo, Doc and Lima
CB: Dawson, Toti, Mosquera, Bueno
LWB: RAN and R Gomes
CM: Lemina, Andre, Gomes, Traore, Doyle
Forwards: Hwang, Sarabia, Guedes, Cunha, Bellagarde, Forbs
St: Larsen
I haven't included some fringe players like Tom King, Enzo and Meupiyou not from ignorance more because they played little to no part in the season.

Genuinely I think GON should have got more from this squad apart from Dawson's injuries and form and the Mosquera injury. We should have been playing a back 5 from the start of the season. And I agree the cb was weakened with Kilman leaving and this should have been rectified last summer. But when you think we have just stayed up with Doc playing RCB it is a bit crazy and I do feel like there was solutions in the squad.

I wanted to show that I feel Fosun do support the club and have done since they brought the club. there's a lot to signing players not just the player wanting to come or the fee but also the fit with the manager and squad.

That is a crazily strong squad for the prem but GON from stubbornness with his back 4 or how he treated some players like Sa, Guedes, Hwang and Andre come to mind shows that Fosun can only do so much they have to leave the football set up to manage the squad and prepare them for each game.

I agree we don't always get signings like Neves, Jota, Raul, Costa, Cavaleiro, Patricio etc but at the same time everyone knows us now. So does that mean that Fosun were successful as they have established us in the prem so far?

BTW I do think we should plan to win the champions league as a fan but also I do think we need to understand that our revenue is a third of Man Citys for example that gives them tremendous weight in the transfer market and also they top this revenue up each season with prize money normally.

Another comparison would be Man Utd who have spent a £1 billion on their squad is it better than ours? Absolutely I'd have Cunha back but I'm genuinely not sure about the rest of that squad. I think our midfield is stronger I don't think any of the Man U defence apart from Maguire in a back 3 or Martinez when he is fit being able to polish Agbadou's boots. And I would prefer Agbadou to those two at the moment. A mention for Fernandes for technical ability and the fact we don't have a no 10 apart from Lopes in the squad but at his age and his mannerism I wouldn't take him and that's without looking at wages.

23.) 09 Jul 2025
09 Jul 2025 09:48:20
Madman - lots of valid points in the post above re finance, the Manchester clubs and sadly GON.
I will just comment on the main one. Last August, see previous posts, I did not think that squad was a crazy strong one for the Prem and I was worried we would struggle.
However I completely agree Wolves hugely under-performed under GON. This was not just because of the 4/5 at the back debacle and the v poor transfer dealings, (prior to the signing of Andre at the last minute it had been a horrific window and his - a class act - signing made it merely bad), but also due to the total chaos and lack of any sort of credible game plan the team operated under.

Back to the team/squad at the start of the 2024/5 season:

I agree we probably thought Johnstone and Sa made a strong pair of prem quality gks.

Semedo and RAN are excellent WBs but not FBs. Hence playing 4 at the back was fatally flawed. How did GON not know this?

At CB we didn't know, but the club must have done, Dawson was done. We knew however that Bueno is nowhere near good enough, Yerson was returning for his first senior football in England after serious injuries and Toti was, and is, a great athlete but a modest footballer. Toti is fine as the 3rd of a back 3 with top players like Dawson/Emmanuel and RAN either side of him but is otherwise weak.
Wolves therefore entered the season unable to play 5 at the back as the club didn't have 3 senior fit CBs and after tragically Yerson got injured again Wolves couldn't even muster 2.
Wolves were designed to fail and fail badly they did!

Midfield was very strong - until Lemina's break down - Wolves had 3 top quality DCMs. However with GON failing to recognise Andre's obvious quality and creating total chaos in the side they were sadly largely unable to impact games and indeed were weak. You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear but you can drag silk purses through the mud and tear them so that they become no more than garbage.

Up front Hwang/Sarabia JSL and Cunha as a 3 should have been and indeed was perfectly ok.

Squad depth was modest as a number of the players you list above were and remain someway from Prem quality - Bellegarde to be fair improved markedly over the season.

The conclusion from all of this?

If Wolves had a decent manager who could cut out the chaos - Vitor tick!
Signed a strong CB to replace Dawson - Emmanuel tick!
Got Yerson fit - tick
Played 3 at the back - tick

They would be fine and be looking forward to a solid mid-table season in 2025/6

Tragically however we have seen what has happened so far this summer and things now look considerably worse than they did this time last year.

Can it be rectified in just over 5 weeks with very limited money?

Unsurprisingly the jury is out and if you ask neutral football fans i.e. non Wolves ones, they assume Wolves are in big trouble.

24.) 09 Jul 2025
09 Jul 2025 20:35:57
TFIOG-Thanks I do still feel the squad was strong last summer (i know injuries played a role over the season especially with Semedo, Dawson, Toti, Mosquera and Hwang in particular you would say were big players in the previous season minus Yerson).

But if you look at the line ups for Arsenal and Chelsea first two games no manager would play a back 4 with Doc at right back and Toti at left cb as neither of them have any pace (different qualities absolutely but not pace). Just feel playing Bueno would have shored that defence up or Lemina as the central cb (which worked at points the previous season but was utilised too late when confidence was low last season 24/25).

As I've said the finances were difficult since the first winter were were struggling and JLO came in and spent a fortune on players the wage budget that season reached £310m. The club isn't in that position now they have regularly sold players on that didn't necessarily work for us like Nunes, Neto (injuries I mean fantastic player but with a relatively small squad it makes a big difference over a season), Cunha (i think its a good price for a player that's stuck with us over 3 years (a lower fee for premiership money this season pretty smart business tbf), Neves, kilman (I think the fee was very generous considering he has no pace) and RAN (Again can we bemoan a player staying 5 years and moving to Man city under Pep).

This doesn't mean I don't think Wolves should plan and play for more I'm just saying the values we received for those players is great business. Its now time to pass the book to the professionals as Jeff admitted himself and I am confident that under this football hierarchy they can get it right with some smart acquistions but also some gems from Portugal or Brazil.
Prediction on 6 players they sign:
1) Wallace-FW £18M
2) Rednan-CB £15M
3) Samu Aghehowa-FW £30M
4) An English no 10 McAtee £25M or Elliott £40M
5) Lino-LB £15M
6) Walter Peters/ Coufal-RB Free

£103m maybe £118m if went for Elliott remember though it also depends on how these deals would be structured. I'm sure Lopes is due next summer so there is a bit of flexibility with some of these signings.

Also want to point out that I agree it sounds mad signing 10 players but then you factor in the players they are trying to move on and you realise if Doyle and Djiga are moving on then they have a plan and the replacements ready maybe the whole transfer window is waiting for Wolves to spend so that allows other clubs to make moves interesting to watch and to see how some clubs selling are trying to push values up around to Cunha's level.

Maybe £60m-£80m will become the new top value for a player again under PSR although Wirtz has moved for £114m but believe that would be an exception. Also not sure what the leagues ffp is in Spain and France for example I know they are all slightly different and the reason why the prem go too far in Villa and Chelsea's case as examples.