Bruno Lage's baffling decision to loan out Wolverhampton Wanderers club captain Conor Coady to Everton during the summer transfer window now looks even worse after the centre-back's World Cup call-up.

Lage was seemingly determined to play a four-at-the-back this season and for an unknown reason, decided that Coady could only play in a five-at-the-back system, so was more than willing to ship out the influential defender to Goodison Park, unknowingly strengthening a potential relegation rival for Wolves.

Despite making over 300 appearances for the Old Gold, including 38 in the Premier League last season, the former Benfica boss was clearly against the idea of keeping Coady at Molineux for the current campaign, a decision which is already costing Wolves dearly.

Everton have conceded the fourth-fewest goals in the division with just 14, whereas Wolves have shipped 22 so far as they persist with a fairly inexperienced centre-back partnership of Max Kilman and Nathan Collins.

WhoScored has handed the two defenders average ratings of 6.57 and 6.54 respectively, compared to Coady's average rating of 6.58 at Everton, which suggests that he still has the edge over his parent club's options.

The 29-year-old has clearly caught the eye with his performances at Goodison Park, as Thursday saw him included in Gareth Soughtate's England squad for the World Cup in Qatar later this month.

There was very little chance of Kilman making the cut, which again suggests that Coady would have been a far superior option for Wolves to have in their current predicament, as experience and leadership are vital in a relegation battle, and the England defender certainly possesses both of those attributes.

The former Liverpool man earned a lot of praise from Lage last season for his importance to the team and the attitude that he showed week in and week out at Molineux, which again begs the question of why he was allowed to leave on loan.

Lage said:

“Coady last time was so important defensively and offensively, because he scored a goal like a striker!

“The centre-backs are so compact, they know how to work together but it is teamwork and the whole team.

“No surprise that he is involved with England at all. He is one of the best guys I know in football. Every time with the big ambition, every time first in the building in the morning."

There is no doubt that Wolves are missing Coady this season and the news that he has made the England squad just hammers home what a huge mistake it was by Lage to let him go.