Wolverhampton Wanderers had a woeful first half of the season, scoring just eight Premier League goals and securing two wins from 15 matches to find themselves rock bottom of the table heading into the World Cup break.

They massively underperformed under Bruno Lage, especially in the midfield areas, lacking any sort of fight or urgency to make things happen. Combined with their goalscoring woes, it hasn’t made for good viewing.

How different it might have been had the Old Gold managed to lure Franck Kessie to Molineux back in the summer of 2019.

Nuno Espírito Santo tabled a €25m (£21.3m) bid for the dynamic midfielder three years ago, however, no move materialised for the Ivorian and he went from strength to strength at AC Milan.

Last season, he played an integral part in securing Milan’s first Serie A crown in 11 years, scoring six goals in 31 league matches, more than any other Wolves midfielder last term. This is something the Old Gold have been lacking recently, a midfielder who is a constant goalscoring threat, and Kessie would have been perfect.

The £148k-per-week star also uses his physicality to great effect, especially when helping out his side defensively, making 1.3 tackles and 0.7 clearances per match while winning 55% of his total duels during the course of last season.

These performances led to him moving to Barcelona in the summer on a free transfer, and Wolves should have reignited their interest then. His value has skyrocketed, however, with the CIES Football Observatory now valuing him at €60m (£51.5m) which surely prices the club out of any future move.

Former Milan manager Vincenzo Montella sang his praises in 2017, saying: "He is an extraordinary player, a sublime intelligence." And he has only gotten better since.

Kessie would make such a difference to this Wolves midfield, adding in some dynamism while also protecting the defence when required and he could have been the fulcrum in the middle of the pitch, dictating play.

Three years on from missing out on the 25-year-old, the lack of any creative guile in the side's midfield has finally caught up with them, and it could prove to be a recipe for disaster come to the end of the season.