Well, I should probably start this by addressing the rather large elephant in the room – that being the almost inevitability that Wolves will not be a Premier League club this time next year. If you have been a long-time reader of my recruitment plans/articles, then you will have tended to notice that I usually conclude with a statement along the lines of “there is no reason why, with sensible recruitment, we can’t push to qualify for Europe this year.” It appears that the punishment for my positivity is us getting an away day to somewhere in Wales instead.
This does however prove a challenge for this upcoming piece, where I will have to suggest signings that are effectively willing to join a team playing EFL Championship football in six months but are willing to have a relegation on their CV in the meantime. That is without mentioning that we are incapable of singing anyone non-homegrown (trained with a club in England for 3 years before their 21st birthday) or under the age of 21 for squad registration reasons.
Hopefully, then, you can see the challenge that I have on my hands and why a mini recruitment plan is no use. Subsequently, this year I have opted to leverage an idea from the brilliant sports journalists over at The Athletic – their “Sensible Transfers” series. This is where they will suggest a player for a club that they think makes sense for all parties. Therefore, in the mini-rebuild that Wolves will be able to pull off this January, I will suggest three signings using data that I think could contribute towards Wolves’ main goal for the rest of the season: this is not finishing bottom of the Premier League.
For those who haven’t read a piece of mine before, I am a third-year student at the University of Derby studying Performance Analysis and Coaching Science, as I aim to land a role in football as an analyst at the end of my degree. This piece will help towards my portfolio as an analyst, so if you do enjoy this piece, be sure to follow my personal Twitter @DiggoryEthan and my football scouting-based account @scoutingww as well as sharing this piece on social media.
Now, without further ado, here are three signings I think can help us out both short and long-term and my reasons why.
Signing Number 1 – Goalkeeper
Only Wolves could have two “Premier League quality” starting goalkeepers in their squad who still have no chance of being good enough to start Premier League games. Despite the initial positivity with José Sá under Bruno Lage, the Portuguese shot-stopper has shown time and again that he is far too error prone and, at least according to the data, is one of the worst shot-stoppers in Europe. Sam Johnstone is no better. Purchased in the summer of 2024 as what was thought to be the replacement for Sá, the latter never left leaving both competing for the number 1 spot in the team.
With rumours circling that the former Olympiacos goalkeeper is being looked to move on this window, I think investing in this position is worthwhile with a view to also move Johnstone on in the summer. Therefore, I have looked to find a homegrown/U21 goalkeeper who is good at saving shots primarily, with a strong all-round ability to sweep effectively and distribute well.
Main Target – Viktor Johansson
Once again, if you have read any of my previous recruitment work, you will know that I have been banging the Viktor Johansson drum for some time now. Firstly, and most importantly for Wolves currently, he is homegrown despite having Swedish nationality. Secondly, in every season he has data for on FBref, he has a positive PSxG-GA statistic. To explain that for those who may be unaware, essentially this means that he always makes more saves on difficult shots or prevented goals from shots that were likely to go in, outperforming the expected outcome. Goalkeepers who do this consistently prove that they weren’t “lucky” to concede less goals than expected and therefore are excellent shot-stoppers. He also boasts a much better save percentage than the others whilst being a much better sweeper which may be required of him if a change in manager, and subsequently playing style, is likely to occur.
On the face of it, the only thing he underperforms one of Wolves’ goalkeepers in is distribution. However, this is probably because he is required to launch the ball forward much less at Stoke City and therefore is more of a stylistic underperformance than actual underperformance. Also, he is five years younger than both current Wolves options, so is still yet to come into his prime. Deserves a shot at Premier League football now, whilst remaining the best goalkeeper in the EFL Championship for when we go down.
Signing Number 2 – Central Midfielder
This suggestion is plain and simple – we simply don’t have enough numbers in this position. Ironically, we decided to loan out a perfect understudy to André who is homegrown and with a lot of room to grow at his age without signing a replacement in the summer just gone. Of course, I’m talking about Tommy Doyle, who is currently thriving at Birmingham City despite a slow start. I think the other issue with this position is that André and João Gomes have proven this season that their individual qualities don’t work together as part of a midfield double pivot. With one of the two I would expect to leave in this window, and the other in the summer, we need to sign a midfielder who is much more of a box-to-box player with one of the other two that stay as the ball-winner. Obviously, this position will need to be a starter next summer and will compliment Doyle who I imagine would be the deep-lying playmaker and also one of the ball-winners for our team in the EFL Championship next season.
Main Target – Dan Neil
Both as a short-term and long-term signing, this one definitely fits the bill of a sensible transfer in my eyes. Dan Neil was Sunderland’s captain as they won the playoffs and returned to the Premier League last summer. However, this campaign, he has found gametime hard to come by with the obvious rebuild that Sunderland undertook over the summer transfer window. A player who can come in now and contribute but also will be a certain starter come next season. The Englishman is also homegrown and at a good age (24) in his career.
Granted, last season he was much more of a deeper midfielder but did show signs that he can fulfil the requirements laid out previously. Looking at the comparison of pizza charts between him and our two Brazilian midfielders, I think this illustrates my prior point quite well. Gomes and André are fantastic winners of the ball and take a lot of touches in the midfield, however, they don’t contribute much else beyond that. Neil offers a good amount of progression, which will enable us to drive forward with the ball without having to worry about winning the ball back himself. With him obviously now being out of favour up north, a move with guaranteed gametime both now and next season seems a smart move for him at this point in his career. Also, with him being captain last season, it offers Wolves much needed leadership both on and off the pitch.
Signing Number 3 – Winger
Another need brought about by poor squad planning is the desperate need for a winger. Despite the signing of Colombian international Jhon Arias in the summer as a replacement for the outgoing Matheus Cunha, the former has massively flattered to deceive in the old gold and black. With him and other potential option Hwang Hee-Chan likely to depart in the summer and understudy Rodrigo Gomes currently injured, Wolves could do with a winger who is comfortable on either side and can provide the creativity lacking in the other available options. At the moment, Rob Edwards seems to prefer a 3-5-2 setup in which there is one target striker and another deeper lying (usually Hwang at the moment) however, when dropping down a division, there may be a view to change that with Edwards using a 4-2-3-1 in games they were likely to dominate at Middlesbrough earlier this season. Therefore, a winger who can put in a good cross, dribble well and create chances for teammates I think should be a big priority.
Main Target – Edan Diop
Now this suggestion is a slight bit trickier to pull off on multiple accounts. Firstly, he is on loan at Cercle Brugge in Belgium and therefore his parent club Monaco may be unwilling to cut a successful loan spell early. Secondly, after the campaign he has had so far, it may be unlikely that he stays in the EFL Championship when the inevitable happens. Other than that, though, he looks to be a stellar addition to this Wolves side. One thing to note although is that Diop’s comparisons are versus other midfielders rather than wingers. This is due to him mostly playing as a left midfielder at Cercle in a 4-4-2. Subsequently, his percentiles look far better in the attacking areas and progression, as that is compared to other central midfielders, including those that are far more defensive. His raw statistics, if you will, however, are still as impressive and at only 21, could be a very shrewd acquisition if/when Jhon Arias eventually moves on in the summer. Like I said, it may be trickier than the other moves mentioned but I think the lure of Premier League football for six months could be enough.
Conclusion
With these three signings and potential outgoing to follow suit, I think there may be a chance that Wolves can avoid the dreaded Derby County points record and the subsequent embarrassment that comes with it. It is, to be quite frank, utterly deplorable that we have ended up in this mess under FOSUN and the recently departed Jeff Shi. However, there is nothing we can do to change the past now and simply just have to focus on the immediate future of our great club. Here is to hoping 2026 proves to be much more promising for us and that these suggested additions put us in a good spot for the summer window.
Until then, Wolves Ay We!
If you have made it this far thank you very much for taking the time to read it. It has taken a little while for me to write and research but I hope that I have got across my ideas for the January signings we could do with bringing in. If you have any feedback, positive or negative, feel free to message me @DiggoryEthan or @scoutingww on Twitter/X.
