Wolverhampton Wanderers were brought back down to earth last weekend as they endured a dismal 3-0 defeat to a club who were in European action just 72 hours prior.
Following a win against Burnley and a draw versus Nottingham Forest, Gary O’Neil would have been looking for his team to take advantage of West Ham’s second game in just three days, yet it looked like the Old Gold were the ones coming off the back of a continental clash.
While there has been some decent progress under the former Bournemouth manager, consistency problems have plagued so far during the 2023/24 season and this will need to be remedied heading into 2024.
With the transfer window just around the corner, could a few signings give the Molineux outfit a boost?
Wolves transfer news – Defensive hunt
According to reports, Wolves have made contact with the agent of current Flamengo defender Wesley Franca as O’Neil aims to add some players to his current squad.
Barcelona were close to signing the youngster, yet due to financial fair play rules, the move didn’t materialise and this could open up the door for the Old Gold to make their move.
More good news has come from journalist Vitor Beloti, who provided an update on his situation, saying: “Wesley has received inquiries from Brighton, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton and has a chance of leaving Flamengo in 2024.
“The English are waiting for the transfer window to open to move forward with negotiations. The full-back has even told Flamengo his desire to play in Europe.”
With Brighton and Palace sure to provide some competition for the player, the next few weeks will be massive with regard to who makes the first move.
The Brazilian has just 18 months left on his current contract and this could further entice Wolves to make an offer for the 20-year-old, especially considering they may not need to pay over the odds.
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The right-back area is a position in which the club really need to strengthen, especially considering how inconsistent Nelson Semedo has been this season.
A move for Wesley would give O’Neil the licence to finally jettison the former Barcelona defender before his contract expires in 2025.
Nelson Semedo’s statistics at Wolves
The 30-year-old joined the Midlands side back in 2020 for a staggering transfer fee of £36.8m and it prompted their executive chairman Jeff Shi to laud to defender, saying: "It's isn't often that we have the opportunity to sign a world-class player from a world-class club. Nelson's signing shows we will never stop progressing and we are still hungry and humble in our heart."
Having won two La Liga titles and a Copa Del Rey during his time in Spain, Semedo arrived with a winning mentality and across his first two seasons he made 64 appearances across all competitions while scoring twice, and it was a decent start.
Last season under Bruno Lage and Julen Lopetegui, however, Semedo failed to impress. He ranked in a lowly 21st position in the squad for overall Sofascore rating in the top flight, while also ranking seventh for accurate passes (27.4), 16th for key passes (0.3) and seventh for successful dribbles (0.7) per game, indicating just how inconsistent he was.
He recorded just one assist across his 36 Premier League matches and for a fullback who loves to bomb down the wing as often as he does, this was a dismal return.
Under O’Neil this term, the Portuguese defender has started every single league match and it proves that the 40-year-old has a lack of options in the right-back role.
With this in mind, a move for Wesley could well be high on his priority list and the youngster has enjoyed a standout season for the Brazilian side in 2023.
Wesley Franca’s season in numbers
During the summer, Wesley was praised by U23 scout Antonio Mango after he burst into the Flamengo senior side. He said: “I’ve been so so impressed with Flemengo’s right-back Wesley França …. He’s been immense since coming into the senior team.”
He ended up making 51 appearances across all competitions for the club during the 2023 season, and he was given a wonderful platform in which to showcase his abilities.
Despite his relatively young age and inexperience at the highest level, the defender has impressed across a wide range of metrics, especially when compared to players occupying the same position as him.
Indeed, when compared to positional peers in competitions similar to the Brazilian top-flight, the 20-year-old ranks in the top 1% for progressive passes received per 90 (10.03), the top 2% for pass completion rate per 90 (85.7%) and the top 13% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 (2.07) as he demonstrated his attacking qualities over the previous 12 months.
Semedo, when compared to his positional peers in the top five leagues, could only rank in the top 38% for progressive passes received per 90 (4.67), the top 35% for pass completion rate per 90 (79.9%) and the lowest 31% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 (0.99), indicating that he hasn’t enjoyed a particularly fruitful last 12 months.
These statistics clearly show that Wesley would be an upgrade on Semedo going forward and, despite playing just 57 senior matches during his career, O’Neil would be able to thrust him into the starting XI and watch him shine.
There is no doubt that several areas of Wolves' first-team squad is in need of an overhaul and the right back area is one notable position.
The 30-year-old has often shown flashes of his talent during his three-year spell in the Midlands, but considering the fee they paid to sign him, it hasn’t been quite good enough.
Moving him on in the near future and bringing in a talented Brazilian starlet who has already shown better statistics across various performance metrics could prove to be a shrewd move by O’Neil.
Of course, it would be a big gamble to take, but no one ever did anything of note by sticking to their comfort zone and this means a move must come sooner rather than later.