By Wolves’ very high standards, they have been desperately poor this season. The Molineux outfit are in the bottom half of the Premier League and European football seems a distant dream.
With that in mind, additions in the summer would be timely.
On the chalkboard
One player linked with Wolves this week was William Carvalho.
The midfielder ticks one of the biggest boxes in terms of a Molineux move; he’s Portuguese.
That being said, he isn’t a client of Jorge Mendes and neither is he a player who they can develop much.
The final point there is one of the biggest factors Wolves consider when signing a new player. However, at the age of 28, Carvalho is heading towards the final stages of his career.
The midfield general is in his prime, but unfortunately, his best days already look beyond him. Carvalho has always been an influential ball winner in the middle of the park, something 1.9 tackles per match lays claim to during the 2016/17 season.
At that point, the titanic midfielder was playing for Sporting but his tackle rate has only fallen since leaving for Betis.
In Spain, Carvalho has managed just 0.8 tackles per match this season, registering 0.5 interceptions in the process. He fails to offer much in the final third either, scoring only twice in 80 outings for his current team.
Is there another option?
Bearing in mind Carvalho’s statistics this season and indeed since he moved to La Liga, it doesn’t offer great hope for Wolves that this would be a worthwhile transfer.
As a result, they should look towards developing their own talent instead of spending money they don’t need to.
One of the players who should get a look in instead is Owen Otasowie. The 20-year-old has only been seen in the senior side on six occasions but there are strong hopes for the future.
After all, he’s regularly been in Wolves’ Premier League matchday squad this term. Like Carvalho, however, he has the ability to play as a holding midfield player. Similarly, he’s also got plenty of strength.
Speaking about Otasowie earlier this term, Scott Sellars summed up his qualities perfectly: “His physicality is his biggest strength. He’s really good at protecting the ball and at one-v-ones, with and without the ball.”
Sellars added: “He’s bright, he challenges the norm, which I like about him. He won’t just say, ‘Yeah, that’s OK, I’ll do what you say’. He’s got personality. I’ve had some interesting and very honest conversations with him about where he’s at, which he appreciates.”
Otasowie has only started once in the top-flight but his tackling stats are more impressive than Carvalho this season. The Wolves prodigy has managed one challenge per match, a tally that certainly doesn’t disgrace him.
In the 20-year-old, Wolves have a real talent for the future. They cannot afford to limit his game time by wasting money on Carvalho.
Nuno has a big decision to make this summer.