Wolves transfers ahead of summer, current form and more

National World - LocalTV

A rundown from Molineux on all things both on and off the pitch.

Transcript

00:00The relegation battle has relied on the likes of Ipswich and Leicester to go on and lose

00:12their games. The win at Southampton was huge for them. Jürgen Strömmelarsson getting

00:17a lot of confidence back with a double is really esteemed. You look at his stats and

00:22you see that he's scored nine Premier League goals this season. It might flatter him at

00:26times. He started the season really well. He's been in and out, but that performance

00:31away could be really important towards his survival hopes and hopefully gets the fans

00:35a bit more on board with the striker. A possible permanent deal looks likely for him. But in

00:41terms of that relegation battle, nine points clear, a huge win away. There's still a lot

00:48to go, but it really puts him in a good position.

00:53It absolutely does. We were speaking ahead of the crucial three games against teams in

00:57the relegation zone. One of those has now been ticked off and it was a victory. Strömmelarsson,

01:01as you say, being so important in that, getting back to confidence, getting those crucial

01:05goals and nine points. You think that probably is insurmountable at this point. But the way

01:11that the three teams down there, Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton have been this year,

01:15I think it's unlikely they're going to reach that total full stop in the last games remaining.

01:20That would require Wolves to drop every single point available. I just can't see a world

01:24now where Wanderers don't stay in the Premier League for another season. Of course, there

01:28is still time to go. There could be plenty of surprises. The Premier League is very unpredictable

01:32at times. We've seen that over other years in the past with miraculous escapes from relegation,

01:37but nine points, such a big buffer now. If anything, I think you'll build more momentum

01:41and push on forward.

01:43Let's just touch on Vito Pereira. In his post-match press conference, he said that he was coming

01:51and he's really embraced the culture. He wants to go to the pubs with the fans and enjoy

01:55the win. That's the sort of culture that Wolves are all about. Having him, he's really adapted

02:01and adjusted. You saw the impact Nuno Espirito Santo had on the city, becoming a doctorate

02:07with the university and stuff like that. It seems like he's the first manager since Nuno

02:12to have this same grasp over the fans and they are really appreciative of it.

02:17It's funny you say that, because when you were talking about his personality just then,

02:20I thought this is the first time you've seen that personality from a Wolves boss since

02:25Nuno. I know Gary O'Neill was friendly enough and he was approachable enough, but he didn't

02:29quite have that same level of passion and connection with the supporters that Nuno did,

02:33obviously. Then you've got Vito Pereira, still early days, but I think escaping the relegation

02:39battle, considering how precarious it looked at one stage when he came in, to do it by

02:43such a margin, or at least likely to be such a margin, is a great achievement. Lopetegui,

02:48he did similar, but he didn't quite have that connection, as I say. It's just that passion

02:51and being open and making these little jokes, these little anecdotes here and there, talking

02:55about going to the pub. It does make a difference. I know it's a way from the football itself,

03:00you'd rather get results than the personality, but to have a mix of the two is a huge boost

03:04for Wolves.

03:05And we've mentioned Jürgen Strand-Larsen, the deal probably going to be made permanent

03:12this summer. I mean, it's a summer that Wolves go into, obviously not 100% knowing what league

03:18they're going to be in. That always makes it very difficult. But on the surface, there's

03:23a lot of players out of contract. There's a lot of players who've stood out this year

03:27as players who are far too good to be in a relegation battle. I mean, it's a summer that

03:32is probably going to be a big clear-out, like a fair few Premier League clubs this

03:36summer, you feel as well. So how are Wolves approaching it in terms of players coming

03:41in, players going out? Do you think Wolves fans will be happy finally after the back

03:46end of a summer? Because the last few have been so strenuous on them and they've been

03:50thinking what's going to happen until the very last day, maybe even a few weeks into

03:54the actual new season.

03:55Yeah, I think it's going to be a little bit of a difficult start to the summer, at least.

03:59I expect Mateus Kunia probably will move on for his release clause. But £62.5m is

04:04a lot of money that Wolves can go and reinvest. Ryan Aitnouri potentially could leave as well

04:08on the other side, on the left-hand side. You've got Nelson Samedo out on the right,

04:12his contract coming to an end. These are vital players that Wolves could lose. It's important

04:16they keep hold of the likes of Joao Gomes and Andre in midfield. I think if they can

04:21stick around, that could be a nice core of the team in midfield. But in terms of transfer

04:25targets, one potential they could look at is Diogo Jota, according to recent reports

04:30at Liverpool. Arnaud Slot wants to have a complete revival of that attacking line, even

04:35if they have been dominant in the Premier League this season. He's not quite happy with

04:38how they're doing up top. And Jota could be on the way out. Could we see him back at Molineux?

04:43I think it would be incredibly positive if he did come back. Would he make the drop down?

04:48I'm not too sure. But he had such an amazing connection with the fan base. He would be

04:52a star player if he did come back. And maybe we could see it. Who knows?

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