How Wolves Could Raise £160m in Transfer Sales This Summer

Gary O’Neil has Wolverhampton Wanderers playing some brilliant football this season.

After last term’s relegation threats, the ex-Bournemouth head coach currently has the

Old Gold sitting comfortably in mid-table in the Premier League – with what would be an impressive top-half finish still within reach.

The new job hasn’t come without its challenges for O’Neil, though,

who had to remedy the sale of the club’s two most important midfield assets last summer – Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes. Alongside the auction of Nathan Collins, Conor Coady, and Raul Jimenez,

they were able to raise £168m before the start of the season and accommodate the arrival of Matheus Cunha and Boubacar Traore – both of whom have breathed new life into O’Neil’s tall ambitions this term.

Thanks to this campaign’s standout performances, Wolves are set to face the same dilemmas this coming transfer window.

He may only be in his first year in the Molineux hot seat – but many of his players are attracting interest from clubs across Europe once again,

leaving O’Neil plenty of headaches he must deal with on the horizon.

In part because of their precarious financial circumstances, the club’s revolving door strategy will also mean that, to aid ongoing progression,

letting go of first-team stars could be on the cards to allow O’Neil and his recruitment staff to reinvest in the squad, regardless of their importance to the side.

Here’s how they could raise a similar amount of funds in the summer, should they need to – for whatever reason.

Pedro Neto

Rumoured Value: £60m

As one of Wolves’ best players, the possibility of losing Pedro Neto this summer will come as a downer to many of his adoring fans.

But when you factor in interest from bigger clubs and combine it with his abysmal fitness record of late, the sale of such a highly regarded winger makes total sense.

Since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, the 24-year-old has missed a century of games through injury.

Nevertheless, he is a mercurial superstar that big clubs are willing to take a risk on,

and his departure could reward Gary O’Neil with a fee north of £60m – in turn, allowing for the arrival of more reliable assets in the long run.

Rayan Ait-Nouri

Rumoured Value: £60m

Demonstrating a perfect balance between attacking and defending duties from left-back,

Rayan Ait-Nouri fits the bill as a young and impressionable modern-day fullback. An expendable outcast under former manager Julen Lopetegui,

his form this season looks set to hand the Algerian international Wolves’ Player of the Season award as he continues to rise in prominence,

and though the club will want to keep him over anyone else this summer, his desire to reach the top will prove a thorny obstacle to bypass in upcoming contract negotiations.

Amid interest from Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City, the Midlands club will do well to keep Ait-Nouri at Molineux past the 2023/24 campaign.

It is reported that it would take a fee in the region of £60m to force Wolves’ hand.

Whilst it may not be the preferred option, it could, again, be worthwhile in the long term, and the club’s ethos of being a stepping stone for young players on their way to higher ceilings has proven successful so far.

Max Kilman

Rumoured Value: £40m

Signed from Maidenhead United for a negligible £40,000 back in 2018, Max Kilman has mirrored Wolves’

meteoric rise to the Premier League by working his way up from the U23s squad to now being the club captain – and making in excess of 140 appearances -following the departure of Ruben Neves to Saudi Arabian outfit Al Hilal.

Taking into account his role in the dressing room and the 26-year-old’s indefatigable essence to start in every Premier League game this season, Kilman could be one of Wolves’ untouchables.

However, money talks, and his loyalty doesn’t stop interest from resurfacing each transfer window.

With West Ham among those knocking on Wolves’ door, a £40m deal could be in the pipeline – bringing about a staggering profit to reinvest into the squad.

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