Matt Maher: Wolves and Villa facing an important couple of weeks
The Premier League season might kick-off this weekend but it is the next fortnight which will likely define the next nine months for Wolves and Villa.
By the time the transfer window closes two weeks tonight, both Gary O’Neil and Unai Emery will hope to have squads deep enough to give them the best chance of achieving their respective aims.
Right now, both look short, to varying degrees.
Wolves, on the surface, have the most work to do, last week’s club record sale of Pedro Neto to Chelsea, following Max Kilman’s departure to West Ham, have left two rather large holes in O’Neil’s strongest starting XI from last term.
Neto, admittedly, was not in that XI anywhere near enough as the head coach would have wanted. The Portugal international’s injury record, across his five seasons at Molineux, is the major reason the fee Wolves have received was not far higher than £54million. Great players are not much use if they can’t get on the pitch.
On the flip side, Neto’s talent was such that he delivered more in his limited appearances than others do in double or even triple the amount. His 20 top flight outings last term saw him set up nine goals. Only Kevin De Bruyne had a better ratio over 90 minutes.
That is the reason O’Neil described Neto as “irreplaceable”. The 24-year-old, when fit, is an out-and-out match-winner. Such players are not easy to find.
