Wolves could be tempted to explore the transfer situation of one unsatisfied Premier League player.
Change is happening at Molineux after Matt Hobbs’ departure as Wolves’ sporting director.
Vitor Pereira is now expected to have more of a say on transfers, working alongside the highly influential Jorge Mendes and Valdir Cardoso.
Following Hobbs’ swift exit, it was announced that Domenico Teti is in line to join Wolves as technical director ahead of what is promised to be a busy summer in the West Midlands.
Wolves should eye Matt O’Riley’s situation at Brighton
Now that the transfer window is open, fans will be looking at Wolves to recruit talent to bolster Pereira’s squad.
Club icon Dave Edwards insisted that Wolves need to replace Matheus Cunha with Premier League-ready quality, which could prompt the Old Gold to explore the possibility of acquiring one unhappy player.
At Brighton, Matt O’Riley is having a tough time after making the £25m move from Celtic to the Amex, recently admitting that he’s ‘not completely happy’ with Fabian Hurzeler’s plans.
“I’m best at the number 8 position, where I can go box to box. I’ve only played two games there, otherwise I’ve been used as a winger, false number 9 or something else,” O’Riley told Danish outlet BT.
“It makes it difficult to show off when you play a position you’re not completely happy with,” he continued.
“I’m just giving my opinion. I can play better for the team if I play the number 8 position, but I can play well in other positions. You can say it in a way that is not aggressive. If you are honest with another person, you don’t lose anything. The coach can always say he doesn’t agree.”
O’Riley earned only 11 starts in his debut Premier League season at Brighton, contributing to five goals, but it’s clear that the playmaker is far from satisfied with how his future could look under Hurzeler.
O’Riley’s creativity could help Vitor Pereira
There’s no guarantee that O’Riley will act on his frustrations with a transfer, but Everton are reported to be eyeing his movement.
Wolves must be proactive in the situation also, particularly when considering what Pereira’s squad has lost with regard to creativity.
It’s not only Cunha’s creative spark that has gone, but Pablo Sarabia’s too, which could give the Old Gold a greater incentive to explore O’Riley’s situation.
When looking at why Brighton signed the Denmark international, it’s clear to see that the midfielder could offer something to Wolves in terms of both depth and Premier League-level quality.
O’Riley recorded 31 goal contributions in only 37 Scottish Premiership appearances for Celtic in 2023/24, and while the Scottish top flight isn’t close to the Premier League in terms of quality, the 24-year-old’s traits can’t be ignored.
The Brighton midfielder averaged 2.5 key passes per game in Scotland, via Sofascore, as well as creating 14 big chances for his teammates, telling of his ability to generate positive passages of play.
Wolves must see an unsettled player who has all the ability to insert some playmaking quality into Pereira’s plans, in what could be another summer of change for O’Riley.
