Wolverhampton Wanderers could end their season on a high by securing wins over Crystal Palace and Liverpool.
This may not be enough to secure a top half finish in the Premier League, but the signs are there that Gary O’Neil is the right man to take the Old Gold into a new era.
With the summer transfer window fast approaching, might the manager have to move on a few players to raise funds for potential signings?
O’Neil could sell a few of his players for a sizeable sum, but might it be Nelson Semedo who is one of the first players out the door?
Nelson Semedo's season in numbers at Wolves
The defender has been utilised in a more advanced role this season as O’Neil tends to use a 3-5-2 formation on a regular basis.
Semedo has missed only one Premier League match all season, against Arsenal last month, but he has registered just two goal contributions across 39 matches in all competitions.
Goals
0
Assists
1
Key passes per game
0.7
Big chances created
2
Successful dribbles per game
1.5
The 30-year-old has featured as a right midfielder on numerous occasions and these figures clearly indicate that he isn’t offering much on the flank.
With just one year left on his current deal, the Molineux side could certainly cash in on him this summer as it represents their last real chance to bank a decent transfer fee for him – as journalist Liam Keen has recently suggested.
Discussing the futures of Semedo – and Pablo Sarabia – the insider stated: "At their ages, they could probably both go and get, particularly Semedo, a three-year deal at a club that’s going to give them good money. Basically a ‘last big move’ scenario. If that was the right move I think all parties would be open to it for both players, but more in Semedo’s case.
The good news? O’Neil wouldn’t have to splash the cash on a replacement as there is a player out on loan who has shone for their temporary side this season – Ki-Jana Hoever.
Ki-Jana Hoever’s statistics this season
In September 2020, Wolves completed the signing of the then 18-year-old from Liverpool in a deal worth around £10m as Nuno Espírito Santo looked to add some young talent to his squad.
Over the next three seasons, the Dutchman would make just 25 appearances for Wolves, spending time on loan at PSV Eindhoven and then Stoke City, which extended into the whole of the 2023/24 campaign.
Hailed as “sensational” by Jurgen Klopp in 2019, it has taken a few years for the defender to live up to this praise, yet he shone for Stoke this term.
Across 44 matches in all competitions, the 22-year-old scored four times while grabbing five assists, with all but one coming from the right-back slot, showing how impressive he has been bursting forward during games.
Not only that, but the former Liverpool gem also created six big chances and averaged 0.9 key passes per game in the Championship, alongside succeeding with 55% of his dribble attempts.
These figures clearly show a player who is able to create chances from defence and could certainly be perfect successor to Semedo, especially regarding how poor the latter man's attacking stats are from the current campaign.
Hoever has failed to really get much of a chance at Wolves, but his spell on loan at Stoke could certainly give O’Neil a licence for him to unleash the youngster as his starting right-back for 2024/25 when it comes.
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