Wolves manager Gary O’Neil has spoken out about the club’s plans for the summer transfer window, admitting that his side ‘don’t have to’ do one crucial thing that upset many last year.
Wolves are braced for a busy summer at Molineux, as Gary O’Neil aims to strengthen his squad after the struggles of last year’s window.
The summer of 2023 was difficult for the Old Gold, who offloaded key players to generate profit amid financial pressures, leaving Julen Lopetegui with no room to replenish his squad, resulting in the Spaniard’s exit.
Without Lopetegui’s departure, O’Neil wouldn’t have been able to guide the current squad to the highs that they have achieved this season however, it has recently looked as though Wolves’ luck has run out in terms of the team being able to maintain form amid injury woes.
The manager hasn’t seen his side win in their previous three Premier League meetings, coinciding with key absences, particularly affecting the attack with Pedro Neto, Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha all injured concurrently.
While the Brazilian has since returned, O’Neil has reacted to recent results with some frustration aimed at the board for their lack of support in January, which could have prevented current shortages.
Gary O’Neil provides Wolves summer plans following Fosun conversation
After expressing his frustration over the size of his squad, talk regarding Wolves’ need to replenish in the summer became prominent once more.
While the chat after the draw with Burnley had a negative feel, as the manager continues to try and maintain form with such a depleted group, O’Neil has since spoken with some reassurance ahead of the transfer window.
As relayed by Express and Star, the boss admitted that the club have ‘already spoken’ about one key aim going into the summer.
“The club have already spoken around the opportunity to do some business and we could lose one of our more valuable ones to reinvest, but we don’t have to.”
“You can see this year we’ve managed to achieve certain things with a small group, so we could easily stay as we are and keep everyone together, or it might be right for us to do some business and try to add some numbers.”
Wolves will be relieved to have a different summer compared to last year
O’Neil’s comments will come as a relief to many, given the way that the summer of 2023 caused the current shortages that have proved to be detrimental to the squad.
It would be impossible for any side to lose players as integral as Matheus Nunes and Ruben Neves and push on without replacing either their quality or presence.
At the time, the primary focus was balancing the books, which the club are believed to have achieved, despite the way the sales left the squad wilted going into 2023/24.
Fosun must now reward the exemplary work of O’Neil to not only keep Wolves in the top flight but to have the squad competing in the top half of the Premier League throughout the campaign.
With a lot of speculation already circulating, it’s reassuring to understand that the club are making a conscious effort to avoid having to offload their strongest assets, giving O’Neil the chance to progress even further next season.