No Wolves return for Tongo Doumbia

The rangy midfielder has spent the season on loan at struggling Valenciennes and been a regular in Ligue 1 as one of eight senior players away from Molineux on a temporary basis and 14 in all.

Doumbia is due back with the season about to end and chief executive Jez Moxey has been speaking to the player's advisors and Valenciennes about his future.

But head coach Kenny Jackett insists there is no way back for the £2.5m Stale Solbakken buy.

"He's under contract and in terms of his play and his form and the way things have gone it's been closely monitored by our staff," said Jackett.

"We know where we are and what he's done and how he's done.

"No decision has been made yet. He could come back, but whether he'd feature, I'd doubt."

As to the other senior players, Jackett admitted it's going to take some careful financial juggling as they are all under contract for at least another year.

"At every club it's hard to move out the players you don't want," he said.

"You're always looking at a level down, so if you pay your players £1,000, the offers from the level below will only be £500 – that's always the way.

"The higher you go up the scale the numbers are bigger.

"It's an art in management where you can keep those numbers down or move them on just before you get caught."

"They're contracted and they're entitled to carry on.

"This season there's been a situation where they're entitled to carry on knowing they won't get first team football at Wolves, which puts the ball in their court because it then becomes their choice.

"That's their balance - weighing up the potential of perhaps taking a drop and going somewhere else, playing well and does that give you longevity in your career if you suddenly miss a chunk? They are decisions for them."

Jackett added: "They haven't got in this season, so it's not necessarily a case where they're going to break in next season.

"But they're under contract and they come back to Wolves and that's where they're at."