If you look down at the list of players currently on Wolves’ books, you’ll notice a host of forgotten names.
The number of players they have earning a salary is remarkable with no fewer than 26 loan deals being sanctioned by the club’s hierarchy throughout the current campaign.
One of those players to be shipped out was Leo Bonatini. The Brazilian striker is currently on loan with Swiss club Grasshopper where he’s scored seven goals in 24 outings.
It’s not a poor tally but unfortunately, it’s nowhere close to being prolific; something that tells a sorry tale of Bonatini’s last few years.
Signed in 2017 on an initial loan deal from Saudi side Al-Hilal, he then joined Wolves on a permanent basis for £3.6m in 2018 after scoring 12 goals in their triumphant promotion-winning campaign.
His value rose to £4.5m but he very quickly fell behind Raul Jimenez in the pecking order. Bonatini has still only played seven games since signing on a permanent basis and now aged 26, he is doing little to prove he deserves the wage he’s earning at Molineux.
Bonatini has had three separate loan spells now. The first was with Nottingham Forest where he failed to score in five appearances. He headed to Portugal for the 2019/20 season where the striker beat the goalkeeper on six occasions in 28 outings.
A third temporary move has followed to Grasshopper but he is surely rapidly approaching the end of his Wolves career. Diogo Jota may have left but they have signed both Willian Jose and Fabio Silva this term.
That has only shoved Bonatini further down the pecking order with two years left on his deal in the Midlands.
Having shown such inconsistent form over the last few years, Jeff Shi would be wise to wield the axe on his Premier League stay. Unfortunately, they are unlikely to recoup much of the fee they spent on the Brazilian three years ago.
That’s because according to Transfermarkt, his value has plummeted by a considerable 80%. From being worth £4.5m in 2018, he is now estimated at just £900k.
It’s hardly surprising, though. Bonatini has been nothing short of average and it’s rather peculiar that Wolves even spent a transfer fee on him heading into the Premier League. Like many at the same time; Roderick Miranda and Rafa Mir included, their careers haven’t prospered under Nuno Santo.
It’s time for Bonatini to follow what happened to Miranda in January and leave the club for good; the £35k-per-week earner isn’t good enough.