Gary O’Neil will be wary of one area of his Wolves squad that must be improved this summer after a disastrous moment against Liverpool.
Wolves ended the season with a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on the final day, continuing their dire run of form in the run-in.
The Old Gold’s hopes of finishing in the top 10 were shattered as Gary O’Neil’s side won just one of their final 10 games in the Premier League, collecting only five points from a possible 30.
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Still, plenty of encouraging signs were shown in the Englishman’s first season at Molineux, one of which was how he improved a host of individuals by simply tweaking the formation.
The defence in particular thrived as O’Neil transitioned from a static back four to a back three with supporting full-backs however, it’s recently become clear that further work must be done to strengthen the position.
Gary O’Neil warned of Wolves defensive issues after Liverpool performance
Wolves’ second-half display against Liverpool was impressive however, the game was already gone by the interval as two soft goals were conceded in the opening 45 minutes.
Reflecting on the final day defeat on the E&S Wolves Podcast, journalist Liam Keen admitted he was shocked by a ‘criminal’ error spotted in Santi Bueno’s game, exposing the frailties currently in Wolves’ back line.
“You can’t let the cross from Harvey Elliot come in, you’ve got to close it down, Santi Bueno, it is criminal to be beaten in the air by Alexis Mac Allister there.
“He turns into it very weak, he has to do a lot better. Wolves then get beaten near post from a corner.”
Bueno won just two out of his six attempted duels at Anfield and was punished in the box by 5 foot 9 Alexis Mac Allister in the air, reinforcing the area that O’Neil must look to bolster this summer.
Wolves must sign a new centre-back in the transfer window
While Bueno wasn’t solely responsible for Wolves’ defeat to Liverpool, the 2023 summer signing’s inability to step up when needed must come as a concern.
Depth has been an issue at Molineux all season after the offloading of an influx of star talent before the 2023/24 campaign in order to balance the books.
The instance of the Uruguayan’s shortfallings against the Reds only showed how far Wolves need to go to have a squad capable of progressing in the top flight, with it not an option to solely rely on the favoured XI to be available all campaign.
Losing Craig Dawson proved to be greatly detrimental to O’Neil’s defence, with a report via The Athletic in early May detailing that the side’s win rate had dropped from 40% to 25% without him.
Beyond O’Neil’s favoured central three of Toti Gomes, Dawson and Max Kilman is just Bueno when it comes to options outside of the starting XI at centre-back, an issue made even more worrying after seeing the drop in defensive strength when one is missing.
The summer transfer window has arrived at the ideal time for O’Neil, who will be eager to both assess his players returning from loan and delve into the market to welcome much-needed reinforcements to Molineux.