Wolverhampton Wanderers remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table after they were beaten 2-1 by Liverpool at the Molineux on Saturday.
Gary O’Neil’s side have lost four and drawn one of their opening six games and are one of four teams in the division yet to win a single match.
The former Bournemouth boss has hit a sticky patch of form and trialled a new centre-back partnership against Arne Slot’s Reds at the weekend in an attempt to turn the tide.
Toti Gomes and Santiago Bueno played alongside each other for the first time in a back four, having only previously played together as part of a three, and they – along with their teammates – gave up 2.53 xG to Liverpool.
O’Neil will need to find an answer to Wolves’ defensive woes after it was revealed that Yerson Mosquera is unlikely to feature again before the end of the season, after he suffered a knee injury against Aston Villa.
There was a time when the Old Gold may have had a world-class centre-back on their hands in the summer of 2019, but they ended up only signing Jesus Vallejo instead of their big target.
Jesus Vallejo's time at Wolves
Towards the end of July in 2019, Nuno Espirito Santo swooped to sign the Spanish central defender on a season-long loan move from Real Madrid.
The move did not include an option for Wolves to make it permanent at the end of the 2019/20 campaign, however, and this meant that he was only ever going to be a short-term fix for the club.
Ultimately, Vallejo was not even a short-term fix for Nuno as the centre-back struggled to break into the team and only made two appearances in the Premier League before his loan was cut short in January.
Minutes played
90
72
Goals conceded
5
1
Ground duels won
1/4
2/3
Aerial duels won
4/7
1/1
Error led to shot
0
1
As you can see in the table above, Wolves conceded a whopping six goals in his two outings in the top-flight, whilst he lost four of his seven ground duels and made one error that directly led to a shot for the opposition.
Vallejo also played five times in the EFL Cup and in Europa League qualifiers before he was sent back to Real Madrid, where he remains to this day – having featured in one LaLiga match for the Champions League winners.
The Spaniard was the only central defender Wolves signed in the summer transfer window in 2019 but things could have been so different if they had been a tad more ambitious with their pursuit of one of their big targets – Ruben Dias.
Wolves' interest in Ruben Dias
The Express & Star reported at the start of August 2019, just a matter of days after the deal for Vallejo was completed, that the Old Gold had decided to end their interest in the Benfica star.
It was claimed that the Old Gold were keen on bringing the Portuguese titan over to England and that they had been in talks with Benfica to agree a fee for his services.
However, they were unable to reach an agreement with the Liga Portugal giants and were not prepared to pay his release clause to get a deal over the line, as it was set at £57m.
Perhaps most frustratingly for Wolves and their supporters, it was also claimed that Dias was keen on a move to the Molineux if the two teams could thrash out a deal for him.
This suggests that the Portugal international would have accepted a switch to link up with Nuno ahead of the 2019/20 campaign, but the club were not prepared to smash their transfer record to pay £57m for him.
Whilst it is hard to begrudge, ultimately, a midtable Premier League side from spending £57m on a player who had yet to prove himself in a major European league, it is also hard to look back on this as anything other than one that got away for Wolves, given what Dias has gone on to achieve in England.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.
Ruben Dias achievements in England
A year after the Old Gold opted against pursuing a deal for the central defender, Manchester City swooped in to sign him from Benfica for a reported fee of £65m as they looked to bounce back from Liverpool’s Premier League title success in the 2019/20 season.
Dias enjoyed an unbelievable first campaign in English football with Pep Guardiola’s side and established himself as one of the best centre-backs in Europe.
He won the FWA Footballer of the Year, the Premier League Player of the Season, and the Champions League Defender of the Season, which suggests that the £65m-rated ace was the best centre-back in the Premier League and the Champions League that term.
The colossal titan was also named in the PFA Team of the Year, the Champions League Squad of the Season, and the 2021 FIFA World XI.
Dias made 51 appearances in all competitions for City that season and helped them to win the Premier League title and to reach the final of the Champions League.
Since the Portuguese giant’s move to The Etihad, Manchester City have won four straight league titles and one Champions League trophy, as they have asserted their dominance in English football.
Dias, who journalist Josh Bunting described as a “Rolls Royce”, has racked up 186 appearances in all competitions for the club to date and won ten trophies.
Appearances
6
Pass accuracy
93%
Ground duel success rate
57%
Aerial duel success rate
64%
Defeats
0
As you can see in the table above, the Portuguese star has also enjoyed a strong performance in the current campaign, helping his team to an unbeaten start to the season with his dominant defensive work.
Overall, Wolves should look back at Dias as one that got away as they missed out on a world-class centre-back in 2019, who went on to be the best player in the Premier League.
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