Gary O’Neil has endured a mixed start as manager of Wolves after taking over the role from Julen Lopetegui only days before the Premier League season kicked-off. With all factors taken into account, it has been a better start to the campaign than many expected as the club find themselves in 14th in the league table despite losing several key players in the summer
Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore all left the club after being some of the most vital players in the squad over recent years, with very little money being available to replace these players due to Financial Fair Play restrictions.
O’Neil also wasn’t in place for the majority of the transfer window which means it was very difficult for the manager to bring in players that fit the vision he was hoping to implement on the team. Beating Manchester City inside the opening eight games of the league season was a massive shock, but goes to show the work the new boss has put in is going a long way.
The line-up used by the English manager hasn’t changed too much throughout the start of the campaign, and we have decided to give a shout-out to some of the players that deserve more of a chance from the start of games rather than substitute cameos.
Fabio Silva
Granted, Silva hasn’t reached the level expected of him when he joined the club from Porto in 2020 for £35 million. The forward has only found the back of the net on five occasions from more than 70 appearances and chipped in with six assists in those games also.
Signing for the club at 18-year-old and being expected to perform in the top division in English football likely worked against the Portuguese striker with very little first-team experience under his belt at that point. Speaking to Voetbal International, the 21-year-old even admitted the time might have not been right to move as he said: “I had no control over that. It was the decision of the club and given the transfer fee I understand. Maybe I would have liked to stay for another year or two, but I try not to think about that anymore.”
His lack of minutes in recent weeks in particular for Wolves is slightly baffling when taking into account the success he endured in two separate loan spells during the 2022/23 season. Silva began the season at Anderlecht before joining PSV Eindhoven in January, and he managed to score 16 goals across the season.
This shows there is a player in there capable of scoring goals and while Matheus Cunha has performed well up-front for Wolves, the Brazilian has been wasteful in front of goal on a number of occasions. It could perhaps be an idea to play both men in certain games with Cunha playing in behind Silva to provide more firepower to a team that often struggles to score goals. Having been brought in for £35m according to Sky Sports, it’s time for the striker to finally deliver his worth.
