From languishing in the bottom half of the table in the Championship a few years ago, Wolves have risen to become regular figures in the Premier League, finishing in the top half in two of the three seasons they've had in the top flight since securing promotion at the end of the 2017/18 season.

One player that has been a constant and reliable member of Wolves' team over the past few years is club captain Conor Coady, who has racked up a total of 297 appearances for the Old Gold across all competitions since arriving from Huddersfield Town back in the 2015 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £2m.

Having been praised for the leadership skills he has on the pitch for Wolves by Dave Edwards, it didn't take long for Coady to be included in the leadership group for the England national team, with manager Gareth Southgate previously highlighting the "tremendous character and resilience" that Coady had shown to "lead the team" after their 1-0 defeat against Denmark back in October 2020.

Even though Coady has played in all of Wolves' matches across all competitions so far this season, the Old Gold have been linked with a player that could be their next version of their team captain.

In the previous summer transfer window, Wolves were touted with a move for LOSC Lille's 21-year-old centre-back Sven Botman, who has since been linked with a move to fellow Premier League club Newcastle United.

With the French club apparently adamant on not letting the £27m-rated defender leave in the current window, Wolves could potentially reignite their interest in him at a later date to see if Lille would be willing to negotiate a deal.

While he may not have the leadership skills of Coady yet, former Lille coach Christophe Galtier has previously said that Botman has been emerging as the type of "leader" that leads by example with his performances on the pitch, which could be why he has garnered so much attention from Wolves and Newcastle.

Taking all of this into account, Botman certainly has what it takes to become the sort of figure that not only leads by example in terms of his performances but also the type of leader that can communicate well and get the best out of the players around him like Coady has been doing at Molineux for such a long time.

While a January move may be out of the question now, Wolves should definitely keep an eye on the next summer window to make a move for him.

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