Wolverhampton Wanderers appear to have found some stability in the leadership of Gary O'Neil, who has the skills and the style to enjoy a successful tenure at Molineux for many years yet.
Having taken the reins at Bournemouth following the sacking of Scott Parker in 2022/23 – previously serving as the 43-year-old's understudy on the South Coast – O'Neil led the Cherries to unlikely survival on their return to the Premier League, though he was dismissed anyway for the progressive football of Andoni Iraola.
But Wolves know a gem when they see one, and after Julen Lopetegui's departure, O'Neil was brought in and he has worked wonders in guiding the Old Gold away from danger and securing a comfortable 13th-place top-flight finish – accruing five extra points (46 in total) to last season's 41-point haul.
1.
Matheus Nunes
Manchester City
01/09/2023
£53m
2.
Ruben Neves
Al Hilal
24/06/2023
£47m
3.
Diogo Jota
Liverpool
19/09/2020
£41m
4.
Morgan Gibbs-White
Nottingham Forest
19/08/2022
£25m (rising to £42.5m
5.
Nathan Collins
Brentford
04/07/2023
£23m
And that's despite last summer's mass exodus, with three of Wolves' record player sales occurring one year ago, leading to Lopetegui's frustrations boiling over and his eventual resignation.
This all bears testament to O'Neil's managerial wherewithal and his faculty for fashioning success from testing circumstances. On the plus, Wolves now enter this year's summer transfer window with little concern over meeting Premier League Profit and Sustainability rules.
Though the Midlands club's best players are being targetted regardless…
The players that could leave Wolves this summer
The obvious one. Pedro Neto is in high demand despite spending half of the 2023/24 campaign on the sidelines nursing injuries, though there is good reason for this after the Portuguese racked up three goals and 11 assists from only 24 matches in all competitions.
The 24-year-old is an immense talent and it's little wonder that, as per The Telegraph, Manchester City and Newcastle United are snooping around with hopes of completing a deal in the coming months, though Wolves have stressed he will cost £60m.
He's not the only one attracting interest from Premier League rivals, however, with tough-tackling titan Joao Gomes on Arsenal and Manchester United's radar following his excellent performances in the Molineux midfield.
Again, Fosun won't let him go cheap and have set a £40m asking price on the Brazilian star, though recent rumours suggest that Thomas Partey might be leaving the Emirates this summer and Gomes could represent a shrewd buy for Mikel Arteta's trophy chasers.
To see such stars depart would be both poignant and concerning for Wolves supporters, who would see their team act to sign fitting replacements lest the club suffer a regression after promising work over the past months.
Especially when other high-cost players on the books must be shipped out first, with the time possibly right for Nelson Semedo to end his stay at Molineux.
Nelson Semedo's season in numbers
Wolves signed Semedo from Barcelona in a whopping £37m deal back in 2020, though this is including add-ons and it's unlikely that that initial figure has ever been reached in full.
The Portugal international has completed 145 appearances in total and has been a key part of O'Neil's season, starting 36 matches in the Premier League.
But he's now 30 years old and one of the club's highest earners, with journalist Liam Keen even suggesting that he is one of the most probable departees this summer.
Matches played
36
Matches started
36
Goals
0
Assists
1
Clean sheets
4
Pass completion
81%
Key passes per game
0.7
Tackles per game
2.2
Clearances per game
2.2
Recoveries per game
5.2
Dribbles per game
1.4 (64%)
Duels won per game
5.1 (52%)
Penalties committed
2
Yellow cards
11
Red cards
1
The thing is, as the table above portrays, the 28-cap international has put up solid numbers throughout the campaign, entrusted by O'Neil to use his experience and athleticism to charge the squad down the right flank, but he must be sold regardless.
Let's dig into why.
Why Wolves must sell Nelson Semedo
Semedo is out of contract next summer and so will enter the final year of his deal aged 30 and off the back of a campaign that has not suggested that he is irreplaceable.
Wolves appear to be in the market for a right-back, with TEAMtalk reporting that West Ham United's soon-out-of-contract defender Ben Johnson is on their radar.
When considering that he actually takes home as much as the aforementioned Neto and Gomes. combined, it seems obvious that if there is a way to sell him first, this must be enforced to potentially save the sales of some high-importance pieces at Molineux.
1.
Goncalo Guedes
£90k-per-week
1.
Pablo Sarabia
£90k-per-week
3.
Nelson Semedo
£80k-per-week
3.
Fabio Silva
£80k-per-week
5.
Hwang Hee-chan
£70k-per-week
6.
Matheus Cunha
£60k-per-week
7.
Boubacar Traore
£55k-per-week
8.
Pedro Neto
£50k-per-week
8.
Matt Doherty
£50k-per-week
8.
Max Kilman
£50k-per-week
*15.
Joao Gomes
£30k-per-week
As you can see, only Pablo Sarabia and Goncalo Guedes take home heftier earnings than Semedo in the Wanderers squad and considering that the Portugal ace is now at the final stretch of his contract and has been criticised for his "frustrating" displays by journalist Nathan Judah, it may well be time to cash in.
According to Football Transfers' player valuation tool, Semedo still boasts a market value of around £13m, so this would appear the right time to tempt potential suitors into making an offer.
O'Neil has proven in the past his ability to make good with the tools at his disposal, but by freeing up the wage bill of Semedo and perhaps even recouping some of that initial outlay, he could even have the means to sign a young and eager new star to take his place.
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