Wolves manager Gary O’Neil has spoken out about the club’s plans for the summer transfer window, acknowledging that his side ‘don’t have to’ do one key thing that offended many fans last year.
Wolves are bracing for a busy summer at Molineux, with Gary O’Neil looking to enhance his squad following last year’s troubles.
The summer of 2023 was challenging for the Old Gold, as they offloaded important players to create profit amid financial challenges, leaving Julen Lopetegui with no room to refill his team, leading to his departure.
Without Lopetegui’s departure, O’Neil would not have been able to lead the present group to the heights that they have reached this season; however, it appears that Wolves’ luck has run out in terms of the team’s ability to retain form despite injury troubles.
The manager’s team has failed to win their previous three Premier League matches, which coincided with important absences, particularly in the attack, where Pedro Neto, Hwang Hee-chan, and Matheus Cunha were all injured at the same time.
While the Brazilian has since returned, O’Neil has expressed anger with the board for failing to provide support in January, which may have prevented present difficulties.
Gary O’Neil provides Wolves summer plans following Fosun conversation
Following his unhappiness with the size of his team, speculation of Wolves’ need to restock in the summer resurfaced.
While the conversation following the draw with Burnley had a dismal tone, as the manager attempts to sustain form with such a reduced squad, O’Neil has subsequently spoken with some reassurance ahead of the transfer window.
As reported by Express & Star, the manager stated that the club has ‘already spoken’ about one crucial goal for the summer.
“The club have already spoken around the opportunity to do some business and we could lose one of our more valuable ones to reinvest, but we don’t have to.”
“You can see this year we’ve managed to achieve certain things with a small group, so we could easily stay as we are and keep everyone together, or it might be right for us to do some business and try to add some numbers.”
Wolves will be relieved to have a different summer compared to last year
Many will be relieved by O’Neil’s statements, given how the present shortages have harmed the squad since the summer of 2023.
It is hard for any team to lose players as important as Matheus Nunes and Ruben Neves and continue without replacing their talent or presence.
Matheus Nunes dragging us up the pitch 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/kkhrXFdV5F
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 16, 2023
At the time, the major goal was to balance the budget, which the club is thought to have accomplished, despite the fact that sales left the team withered heading into 2023/24.
Fosun must now reward O’Neil’s outstanding efforts in not only keeping Wolves in the top level, but also keeping the side competitive in the top half of the Premier League throughout the season.
With so much talk already swirling, it’s encouraging to know that the club is making a concerted effort to avoid offloading its most valuable assets, giving O’Neil the opportunity to advance even further next season.
