Wolves were required to sell a number of players last summer in order to balance the books – and one transfer deal the club did now looks a masterstroke.
Wanderers were in real trouble ahead of this season, having considerably overspent in recent times.
The club were in danger of breaching the PSR loss limit for a three-year period, and potentially could have faced points deductions just like Everton and Nottingham Forest have this season.
The club’s precarious financial position meant that several high-profile stars were offloaded, with Julen Lopetegui also walking out just days before the current campaign.
One player who ended up being sold was Matheus Nunes, whom Wolves will reunite with this weekend as they head to the Etihad Stadium. And it has to be said, the decision to sell now looks an inspired one…
Matheus Nunes sale has turned out to be a masterstroke from Wolves
Wolves signed Nunes from Sporting CP for a reported £38 million rising to £42.2 million, which was a club-record at the time.
There was a lot of hype when he signed, because other big clubs in Europe had been on his tail. Pep Guardiola had famously branded him one of the best players in the world, and he was seen as a very talented and unique midfielder.
Wolves got him but sadly, he never really did the business at Molineux
There were flashes of his talent, but the consistency just wasn’t there. Perhaps he didn’t really fit the system – sometimes, he did play out wide and that was never his most effective position.
But Nunes largely struggled to impose himself in Old Gold, and only really had a handful of top performances during his time at Molineux.
In the end, after the player disappointingly went on strike, Nunes was sold to Manchester City for a reported £53 million, resulting in a small profit for Wolves. It was a difficult situation for new manager Gary O’Neil, but he handled it with real class. He admitted that Nunes was ‘an incredibly talented boy’, and never slammed him for his behaviour.
City have played 49 games across all competitions since Nunes signed for them, and he has appeared in just 30 of them. He has started only 14 times, meaning a starting rate of just 28%. He has played only 1529 minutes in total, and has just been unable to force his way into the starting XI and stay there.
He may well eventually come good for City, but at the moment there is no denying that the Nunes sale looks a very astute piece of business by Wolves, especially considering what it allowed the club to do…
Nunes sale brought Tommy Doyle to Wolves
As a result of Wolves selling Nunes to City, there was a chance for the club to reignite their interest in midfielder Tommy Doyle.
Wanderers had been linked with him earlier in the summer, but things then quiet as the financial problems came to light. Sporting director Matt Hobbs said that the interest from City in Nunes allowed them to explore a deal for Doyle – and the youngster has looked a fantastic addition so far.
Doyle signed on loan, and can be bought for just under £5 million this summer. It has been reported that is what Wolves intend to do.
The Englishman has been improving game by game, and looks a much better fit for this side than Nunes ever did. He is a totally different option to Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes with his technical ability and passing range, and is a great player to have in the squad.