Matt Cooper looks back at the 13 signings Wolves made over the course of last season.
With everything that’s happened at the club.
It’s easy to forget how mad Wolves summer tranfers window was. With Fosun Group taking over the club and Jackett departing, Wolves looked for help from Jorge Mendez to secure the player they were in dire need of with the campaign fast approaching.
Whether the signings were influenced by Mendez, Thelwell, Lambert or even Zenga into joining the club, there impact was few and far between in many cases.
Let’s go through who joined the club and how the did last season.
Helder Costa
What a great acquisition Costa has been.
The only signing of the Fosun era that has consistently shown the quality that we should be striving towards in the market with the resources we have available.
Although there are question marks over his injury proneness, Helder was well deserved of his player of the season accolade.
Signing the winger on a permanent deal has definitely shown Wolves’ intent.
9/10
Ivan Cavaleiro
When Wolves signed Cavaleiro in the summer window, I’m pretty certain fans were more than appeased with Mendes’ dealings.
The winger showed glimpses of class but is nowhere near the finished article.
Great delivery and pace is what you want from your wide players but his tendency to be reckless cost Wolves a few times last season.
Nuno will probably favour him over Jordan Graham due to his flamboyant Portuguese links – but that won’t stop him from piling the pressure on Cav.
7/10
Romain Saïss
In and out of the side from the day he touched ground at BHX. Saïss future looked increasingly bleak under the reign of Lambert until he was finally given a chance towards the latter end of last season.
The holding midfielder gave Wolves another option that no other midfielder could.
Big in stature, he can also distribute a ball excellently well but as the same with the above mentioned, his head is prone to falling off but I’m excited to see what his partnership with Ruben Neves can bring.
7/10
Jón Dadi Bödvarsson
The Icelandic prince that everybody adored.
But was he really any good?
He worked tirelessly but what he showed in effort, he lacked in ability.
Three goals all season is something that would be commendable for a centre-half – not your striker. Even Danny Batth managed to outscore him.
It’s not a surprise to see him offloaded to Reading, where no doubt he’ll get 25 goals with at least five of them coming against Wolves.
He’ll most certainly be missed, but not for his footballing attributes.
5/10
Prince Oniangué
Prince was unfairly treated for me under the reign of Lambert and I feel Wolves would’ve benefited from his services throughout the season.
He performed well under Zenga, with his driving runs from midfield, he gave Wolves more of an attacking impetus from the centre.
Shipping him out on loan to France was a poor decision for me but his future at Wolves looks over.
5/10
Paul Gladon
Just what was this all about?
Seriously?
Whoever commissioned this signing should be sacked purely on this decision.
He spent more time exploring the local Bengali cuisine.
0/10
Ben Marshall
A great bit of business from Lambert.
Marshall fitted straight into the team.
A Rolls Royce, he glides with the ball at his feet and for what he may lack in pace, he certainly makes up for in technique.
He’s the best deliverer of a dead ball since we saw Sako running through Championship right backs on a weekly basis.
I just hope Nuno finds a place for him this season.
8/10
Andy Lonergan
Another awful signing, his only saving grace is he was probably not as bad as Gladon.
At some points in the season I was genuinely under the impression that his hands could be actually made out of polystyrene.
The fact that Burgoyne pipped in before him showed how much Lambert thought of him.
A few good reaction saves though.
Every cloud.
3/10
Silvio
It just wasn’t mean to be for the silky full-back.
His career never got off to a start at Molineux due to a foot injury that kept him out until the remaining few games of the season, where admittedly he did impress.
Concerns over the injury could be the reason why the hierarchy haven’t renewed his contract.
Another Wolves transfer where fans will ask ‘what if?’
5/10
Richard Stearman
The return of Stears was welcomed by the Molineux faithful but he wasn’t the Stearman that we saw before he joined The Cottagers.
Looking a little lacklustre, he still provided consistent performances but was always nearly but not quite.
He’d do a job for most Championship teams but we really should be looking for more.
He was always the ultimate professional and he’ll forever be remembered for that header at the Kop.
What a moment.
6/10
Andreas Weimann
A breath of fresh air for the 16/17 season came in the shape of a little Austrian fella.
The pocket rocket zipped around the turf and even bagged himself a few goals for his troubles.
A favourite with Lambert, it wasn’t a surprise to see Wolves’ interest fade as PL got the boot.
I personally wouldn’t have liked to see Weimann back down the Molineux this season as I think we should be looking for more – but he did do a great job for the time he was with us.
7/10
João Teixeira
‘Wow what a player we’ve got in Tex’ most Wolves fans would’ve told you come mid to late September.
Fast forward just two months later and he’d gone AWOL.
He joined Forest on a sub loan agreement (which never seemed to exist until this season) where he didn’t look great either.
For the time he did play at Wolves, he looked a class act but as you’re about to learn, another player failed to adapt to the physicality of the Championship.
4/10
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson
How could someone who was held in such high regard at the biggest club in the country manage to flop in the old gold and black?
He struggled to make the physical step down to the Championship and with Doherty more than adequately filling in, CBJ didn’t really have a chance.
He struggled to dot his I’s’, never mind cross his t’s.
Will inevitably develop into a world class full-back – obviously.
2/10
Ola John
What went on here? There seems to be no explanation.
Alright he was unfit but he featured twice in the league before he joined Deportivo on a sub-loan agreement. Journalist’s raved about his ability but unfortunately we never got to see it.
2/10
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