Wolves manager Gary O’Neil could have a big decision to make over the future of one of his key players this summer, with journalist Liam Keen explaining the “opportunity” the club could have in the transfer window.
There aren’t too many expectations for Wolves going into the summer transfer window, other than making it better than the 2023 window.
The Old Gold were stripped of star quality last year, losing key players to generate much-needed profit, all to be left with a shortened squad due to the club’s inability to spend.
Financial restrictions saw the Midlands club squirm in the weeks leading up to the start of the 2023/24 campaign, with tensions hitting a high days before Wolves’ season opener as Julen Lopetegui walked away from his position.
Gary O’Neil took charge and has driven the squad in the right direction, laughing in the face of adversity however, there is still a lot of work to be done to bolster the team at Molineux.
Recently, the boss has expressed his frustrations over the lack of finances available in January to permit him to welcome a new striker, with the same mistakes not able to be made in the summer given the work that the 40-year-old has put in to ensure the season has been a good one.
Wolves could have a ‘big decision’ to make in the summer transfer window
While it’s necessary that Wolves welcome some new faces to the squad in the summer in order to push on ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, there could also be some exits.
The futures of Pedro Neto and Joao Gomes have been spoken about frequently in the build-up to the summer transfer window, however, journalist Liam Keen has raised another prospect regarding the future of right-back Nelson Semedo.
Speaking on The Keen & Judah Show, the Wolves expert admitted that the club have a “very big decision” to make over the 30-year-old’s future, as he nears the final year of his contract at Molineux.
“Nelson Semedo is going into the final year of his contract and he’s on massive wages at Wolves, with that in mind, Wolves will have a very big decision to make on Nelson Semedo in the summer.”
“They have the opportunity to move him on and save on those wages and maybe get a decent enough fee with him having a year left.”
Should Wolves be open to selling Nelson Semedo in the summer?
Based on this season’s performances, it would be difficult to imagine Wolves parting ways with Semedo after producing arguably his best football at the club this season under O’Neil.
The manager himself is a big fan of the former Barcelona whiz, whom he described as “incredible” earlier this season for his work at right-wing-back to compliment the boss’ desire to play a back five.
That being said, Keen’s comments have a lot of validity, with the Portugal international being the club’s second-highest earner, picking up £4.1m per year, which breaks down to approximately £80k-a-week, via Capology.
Given Wolves’ pressures to adhere to financial rulings, it would be a smart move to save on the wages being paid to Semedo, who with one year remaining on his contract, could still leave for a decent fee.
It’s a difficult scenario for the Old Gold to decide on, considering that the defender has been highly influential this season under the guidance of O’Neil, who is undoubtedly bringing the best out of him.