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Transfers
Wolves’ £27m ace linked with exit as manager admits he will ‘evaluate’ January transfer
While much has been made of Wolves’ tricky fixture list and a few impactful VAR interventions, Gary O’Neil was certainly not blameless in that disastrous Premier League start.
And, with the manager’s team selection coming under fire as Wolverhampton Wanderers🃏 endured their worst start to a top-flight season in 1964, it was the lack of opportunities afforded to one player in particular which became a source of much frustration.
Goncalo Guedes’ꦫ reward for a couple of eye-catching EFL Cup performances – he scored three times in two games against Burnley and Brighton – was a minimal, cameo role in Premier League action.
🎀After netting a late brace in round two, Guedes played just 15 minutes off the bench against Nottingham Forest at the end of August. After hitting the target again in round three, the Portugal international played less than half an hour as Wolves threw away a lead to lose at Midland neighbours Aston Villa.
ꦇThe clamour for greater minutes grew again as Guedes set up Joao Gomes’ goal against Crystal Palace in last week’s 2-2 draw, and the disappointment was palpable as the team sheet emerged seven days later for Saturday’s clash with Southampton.
Villarreal boss reacts to potential Goncalo Guedes exit from Wolves
𒆙The £27 million signing from Valencia was, once again, back among the substitutes.
𒐪And with one of Guedes’ former employers suffering from a bitter injury blow – Villarreal winger Ilias Akhomach will miss the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament tear – a return to La Liga will surely appeal unless O’Neil is willing to reward his occasional supersub with the game time he craves and, arguably, deserves.
ไVillarreal boss Marcelino Garcia Toral was asked about a potential homecoming to the Estadio de la Ceramica for Guedes in the aftermath of Ilias’ injury and the struggles of talisman Gerard Moreno.
🍃And while he was reluctant to give too much away, Marcelino does admit that fitness issues could force the Yellow Submarine into the market for reinforcements.
🐻“It is still too early for that,” the former Athletic Bilbao boss told reporters when the Guedes question was brought up. “As the season progresses, we will see if there is any need [to sign the Wolves winger], more based on injuries than performance.
𝐆“In attack, we have not yet been able to count on Gerard, although we hope that he returns and gives us a great performance.
♉“Together, with the club and the medical team, we will see how the injured are and we will evaluate.”
Gary O’Neil has praised Guedes’ impact despite lack of minutes
ꦑGuedes spent the second half of the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Villarreal, scoring three goals in 19 games.
ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚThe 27-year-old’s Wolverhampton Wanderers career has been a disappointing affair⛎ thus far, Guedes yet to rediscover the explosive impact he enjoyed with Valencia. But a handful of lively, match-changing displays off the bench means the former Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain winger is surely deserving of the chance to stake his claim with a run of starts in O’Neil’s XI.
𒉰“I thought Guedes was excellent,” O’Neil said after Wolves lost to Brighton in the Carabao Cup, the Iberian playing only 103 minutes of Premier League football in six outings since then.
🐭“He’s obviously had a tough few years with injuries and being unsettled at the club. [But] he showed quality, he was bright, he worked unbelievably hard for the team. There were lots of positives in there.”
Wolves did finally get off the mark for the Premier League season during Saturday’s 2-0 win over Southampton. That will ease the pressure on the manager, after TBR reported that ❀Wolves were considering David Moyes and Luton Town boss Rob Edwards as potential O’Neil replacements.