Wolverhampton Wanderers have gone under the radar when it comes to astute signings in recent times.

It's easy to overlook the fact that their last five arrivals, including loans, have all been signed for under £10m. It's even more impressive that four of those are consistent first-team players, with Yerson Mosquera the only exception, although he has made one appearance for Bruno Lage's first-team and would surely have more were it not for a long-term hamstring injury.

Nevertheless, their business over the past year has been nothing short of sensational, especially in today's market, which is why it comes as even more of a shock that Wolves once failed to acquire the permanent signing of Emiliano Martinez, who is now a Premier League regular elsewhere in the Midlands at Aston Villa.

Back in the 2015/16 season, the Argentine played for the Old Gold amid a loop of loan moves and fringe appearances, although his initial opening months at Wolverhampton Wanderers sought to end that pattern.

In 2015, Martinez made 13 appearances for Wolves in the Championship and despite only keeping four clean sheets, he conjured up a rather impressive 71% save percentage. For context, in his breakout season for Aston Villa in 2020/21, his save percentage was 77%, so for that time in his career it was a very impressive metric.

Ultimately it was the thigh injury that kept him out of contention for several months which cost both Martinez and Wolves the chance to work together long-term.

On one hand, you can understand the caution that Wolves expressed, as the 'keeper was unable to regain his starting place after the injury. However, with the underlying stats that he displayed throughout those 13 appearances for the Old Gold, it remains a mystery as to why Martinez was never given the chance to win back his place between the sticks.

Despite finding a gem in former Olympiacos 'keeper José Sá, the reluctance to sign a goalkeeper dubbed by Dan Rolinson as "unreal" and who would go on to earn the highest of plaudits from Lionel Messi must serve as one of the biggest transfer regrets at Molineux.

To rub salt in the wounds of the Wolves pack, the 29-year-old who has shone for club and country is now worth £28.8m in today's market. Had the Old Gold pounced for a permanent deal six years ago, they may have got him for as little as £1.35m judging by his Transfermarkt valuation at the time, instead of leaving him return to his then-parent club Arsenal for nothing.

In other news - Lage could finally unearth Wolves' new Diogo Jota in "unpredictable" £33m creator