Noel Whelan has said that he is “sure” that Wolves will spend big again this summer to replicate an impressive first season back in the Premier League.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have broken their transfer record twice in the past year, with Adama Traore’s £18million arrival last summer being trumped by the £30million acquisition of Raul Jimenez on a permanent deal from Benfica in April.
The investments paid off for the Midlands side, who finished seventh in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup – and speaking to Football Insider, BBC pundit Whelan has predicted no let-up from the club.
“I’m expecting Wolves to spend big this summer,” Whelan said. “Records will be broken, I’m sure of that. They will be in Europe next season, which will mean they need a bigger squad.
“The team has strength, flair and play an attractive style, and they surprised a lot of teams last season. Although they did not surprise me, as I had seen how good they were in the Championship the previous season.
“The owners are ambitious, so I believe there will be plenty more top players coming in who can fit in. Everything has happened very quickly for Wolves, they are probably a year ahead of schedule in terms of where they hoped to be. But no one will be worrying too much about that.”
OPINION
This is certainly a bold prediction from Whelan, but one that is not totally beyond the realms of imagination. The pundit is right: Fosun – the club’s owners – are highly ambitious and they have repeatedly referred to a ’10-year plan’ that, if it goes to plan, will see the club rise to the top of English football. One thing is for sure, the owners have not made that bad of a start, finishing as the best of the rest behind the increasingly unmovable top six in their first season back in the top flight. Next season will be so crucial for Wolves, though. It will be the first campaign in which the club will be asked to prove its credentials, and if its players’ abilities on the pitch live up to all the hype and expectation. If Wolves add some more signings ahead of the new season, they could well be on their way to doing that.