Updates from Fosun have been few and far between for Wolves in recent times, but the owners will no doubt be delighted by the latest news from Premier League HQ.
Wolves‘ Chinese benefactors Fosun – a huge investment group led by Guo Guangchang, Wang Qunbin, Liang Xinjun – bought the club in 2016 and enjoyed major success in the early years.
However, the Premier League‘s Profit and Sustainability Rules, which limit clubs to financial losses of £105m over a rolling three-year period, have led to swathes of player sales in recent seasons.
The departures of the likes of Max Kilman and Pedro Neto in the summer were the catalyst for rumours that Fosun were crafting an exit strategy at Molineux.
However, in a round of media appearances in recent weeks, chairman Jeff Shi has insisted that the owners are only seeking minority investment in Wolves, not a full sale.
Hoping to raise £75m, Fosun will reportedly reinvest the capital in their esports and sportswear ventures.
It is likely that Wolves would be involved in some capacity with either of those investment projects, given that they have their own successful esports team and have their kits manufactured by Fosun-owned Sudu.
Wolves to capitalise on new Premier League strategy?
In what was considered a somewhat tenuous claim, Jeff Shi recently said that Wolves were the fourth most popular club in China.
And while that may well be slightly wide of the mark given the brand strength of the so-called ‘Big Six’ in the region, Wolves are a growing name in the state of nearly 1.5 billion people.
Now, as reported by Sport Business, the Premier League are set to open a new office in China to drive a commercial push in the region.
After the Premier League saw its Chinese TV deal worth more than £500m scrapped in 2022, Richard Masters and his peers are looking for a new media package in the country.
The fact that the Premier League are actively courting interest in the region bodes well for Fosun and their search for minority investment.
Wolves seeking minority investment – who could buy into the Molineux club?
Recent developments have perhaps hinted that Fosun may be looking to the Middle East for investors.
The investment arms of Gulf states have notably invested in the likes of Man City, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain, but also in ‘smaller’ clubs like Sheffield United and Paris FC in recent years.
The private equity market, however, may well be a more realistic proposition for Wolves.
Investment companies and financial institutions from the America have descended on the Premier League in their droves in recent years, with over half of the 20 clubs now having some degree of US ownership.
But it is a crowded market place at present, with Tottenham, West Ham and a smattering of other clubs actively on the hunt for minority investment.
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Speaking exclusively to TBR Football, Liverpool University football finance lecturer and industry insider Kieran Maguire has suggested Fosun likely value Wolves at around £500m.
That appraisal however is heavily contingent on Wolves retaining their top flight status this season under Gary O’Neil.
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Wolves eye giant £8.5m Ligue 1 defender to solve Gary O’Neil’s defensive nightmare
Wolverhampton Wanderers could turn to Ligue 1 in pursuit of a new centre-back with Rennes defender Christopher Wooh catching the eye of Gary O’Neil’s struggling Premier League outfit.
- Exclusive from Graeme Bailey
Following the £40 million sale of captain Max Kilman to West Ham United over the summer, Wolves boss O’Neil backed Yerson Mosquera to step up and secure a first-team berth on the back of his impressive loan spell at Valencia.
So when Wolves’ Mosquera suffered what could be a season-ending ACL injury during the recent defeat to Midland neighbours Aston Villa, O’Neil saw his centre-back reserves deplete even further.
The Black Country outfit now have only three fit, senior central defenders.
Craig Dawson and Toti Gomes struggled badly in the 5-3 defeat by Brentford last time out – former Molineux stopper Nathan Collins opening the scoring just to add insult to Mosquera’s very literal injury – with Santiago Bueno watching on from the bench.
It will come as little surprise, then, that Wolverhampton Wanderers are looking to the January window in order to add some much-needed depth to their paper-thin backline.
Wolves eye Rennes defender Christopher Wooh
Christopher Wooh of Stade Rennais is someone Wolves have been keeping an eye on.
At this stage, it is not certain how much Rennes would want for their 15-time Cameroon international. Or, indeed, how serious Wolves’ interest really is. But Wooh is on the radar.
The France-born giant – Wooh is 6ft 3ins tall – has blossomed into one of Ligue 1’s finest defenders since arriving in Brittany in an £8.5 million deal from Lens back in 2022.
He has started six of Rennes’ seven top-flight matches so far this term, and could become the latest young talent to graduate from the Lens finishing school and climb the rungs of the European game.
RB Leipzig striker Lois Openda, Crystal Palace enforcer Cheick Doucoure and former Manchester United powerhouse Raphael Varane all honed their talents at Lens.
“Christopher is an intelligent player,” former Sang et Or coach Franck Haise told reporters of Wooh when he was being linked with Newcastle back in 2022. “He has real potential for Ligue 1. I have complete confidence in him.”
HITC reported in September that Wolves were considering veteran free-agents James Tomkins and Paul Dummett to ease their defensive fears. Tomkins left Crystal Palace over the summer while Dummett’s contract at Newcastle United expired.
Nearly a month on, there appears to have been little movement in that department with Wolves seemingly preferring to stick with what they’ve got until the January window.
Gary O’Neil bemoans Yerson Mosquera blow for Wolves
“He’s a great kid and I’m absolutely devastated for him because of the energy [he brings],” O’Neil said at a press conference when asked about Mosquera’s injury a few weeks back.
“No matter how things go each week, he gives absolutely everything and he always attacks things and does things in the right way.
“It’s a big loss to us. It’s a big blow to the team but it brings an opportunity to others.”
Phil Hayword, Wolves’ head of high performance, spoke to the club’s official website about Mosquera’s current situation on Wednesday. And he feels that, while an ACL injury all-but ended Sasa Kalajdzic’s Molineux career, there is no reason to suggest the Colombian cannot bounce back.
“When a player injures their ACL, it’s one of the more complicated injuries because it’s one of the few tissues in the body that will never be able to properly heal itself,” Hayword explains. “If the ACL is torn, it will always need to be surgically repaired in order to heal.
“[But] ACL surgeries tend to be a lot more successful now than they were 20 or 30 years ago because surgical techniques have improved a lot. If you think about how a mobile phone has changed in the last 20 years, the same thing has happened with surgical advances.
“The instruments, the cameras to see inside the joint to visualise the anatomy, and the actual techniques themselves have all improved massively in the last 20 years. The surgery now is far superior to 20 or 30 years ago.
“So, it tends to be much more successful now than it was before.”
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Fosun admit they are ‘very active in Middle East’ as Wolves part-takeover talks advance
After two summers of cutbacks, Wolves supporters have understandably questioned the commitment of their owners, Fosun. But the Chinese investment group have clarified their position in recent times.
Wolves chairman Jeff Shi, who serves as Fosun’s primary representative at Molineux, has said that the owners are here to stay but are seeking minority investment in the club.
Reports have suggested that Fosun could sell approximately 10 per cent of Wolves for £75m.
It is a difficult market at present, with stubbornly high interest rates and the saturation in the Premier League with rival clubs also courting minority investment prospects not making for ideal sale conditions.
But if and when Fosun do find a potential buyer, they say they plan to reinvest that capital in their esports and sportswear ventures.
Significantly, Wolves would likely play a role in both of those projects given that the owners have scaled up their esports team and established sportswear brand Sudu with Wolves as their flagship partner.
A tough start to the Premier League in 2024-25 under manager Gary O’Neil has not exactly been the best advert for potential investors.
But Wolves are regarded as a relatively attractive asset all the same, and the latest statement from Fosun perhaps signals where they might look next in their search or a buyer.
Fosun targeting Middle East market in business masterplan
Fosun International are a huge multinational whose revenue exceeded £20bn in the last financial year.
Fosun recently announced a £677m private loan from a consortium of 25 different Chinese banks and international institutions was one of the largest loan agreements in the country so far this annuum.
But Chinese investment specifically in sport, which is dictated heavily by the communist government policy, has declined in recent years.
However, many analysts now believe that it may be on the rise again, albeit likely through merchandise and other associated markets as opposed to mergers and acquisitions.
And in a new press release focusing on their increasing activity in the Middle East, Fosun have outlined their continued commitment to sport, namechecking Wolves in the process.
“Fosun has been very active in the Middle East region,” an excerpt of the statement reads.
“Under the guidance of Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030”, the country is quickly becoming a hub for sports, especially esports.
“At the recent Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, Fosun Sports’ Wolves Esports Club won two championships in “Teamfight Tactics” and “Honor of Kings.”
“With Saudi Arabia’s continued investment in esports and Fosun Sports’ excellent performance in both football and esports, further collaboration between the two sides is expected.”
Who else could invest in Wolves?
In a recent interview, Jeff Shi made the somewhat outlandish claim that Wolves are the fourth most followed team in China in terms of social media reach.
And while the chairman may have been slightly liberal with the facts on that occasion, Wolves are an established Premier League team and do have a foothold in the global market in terms of their ‘brand’.
That is very attractive to investors who believe that the next new frontier of revenue generation for Premier League clubs is in monetising their overseas fanbases.
A wave of US private equity investors believe that clubs such as Wolves are undervalued as a result and therefore believe they are top-drawer capital appreciation projects.
There could be a natural candidate in one of the groups or individuals that have failed to buy Everton, with Dan Friedkin set to take over and oversee the transition to Bramley Moore Dock.
And while Wolves represent a different investment prospect as only a minority of their equity is for sale, it would not be a surprise to see one pile their chips on the Molineux club in the near future.
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