It has been an incredibly tough season so far for Wolverhampton Wanderers. They recently sacked Gary O’Neil as manager, with the club reeling in 19th place in the Premier League and with just nine points to their name. The Old Gold have managed to win just two games this term.
As The Athletic reported on Thursday afternoon, Vitor Pereira will be the new Wolves boss, and will leave his post at Saudi side Al-Shabab to take the job at Molineux. He will have a big task on his hands, looking to turn the fortunes of Wolves around this season.
Naturally, the new boss will want to get a look at his whole squad, but will no doubt also want to track the progress of those out on loan, in case they are options for his side in the long run.
Wolves’ players out on loan
Firstly, it is important to note that the Old Gold have some youngsters out on loan at various clubs across the Football League. Two of those, Joe Hodge who is at Huddersfield Town, and Tawanda Chirewa who plays for Derby County, are injured and have had little involvement this season. Chem Campbell has five goals and four assists in 18 games for Reading.
In terms of their more prominent first-team players who are out on loan, one in particular is thriving, although has struggled with injury.
Hugo Bueno is playing at Feyenoord in the Netherlands this term, and he has three assists in eight Eredivisie games, including one against FC Twente.
Another full-back, Ki-Jana Hoever, is plying his trade in France with AJ Auxerre, where he has had an eventful time. The 22-year-old has an assist and a red card in 13 games so far. Winger Chiquinho is having a less smooth ride, on loan in Spain at Mallorca. He has played just 140 minutes in La Liga this term.
There is another Wolves loanee out in Spain this season, who is thriving and could certainly be a player Pereira could utilise at Molineux.
The loan star who Pereira could love
The player in question here is striker Fabio Silva. It has been a mixed time of things at the Old Gold for the youngster, who cost £35.6m from Portuguese side FC Porto. He has not really lived up to the price tag at Molineux so far, with five goals and six assists in 72 games.
However, after a few loan spells across various clubs in Europe, it seems like the striker has finally settled down somewhere. Currently plying his trade in La Liga for Las Palmas, the 22-year-old seems to be hitting his best form.
He has five goals and two assists in 12 La Liga games so far, including a goal against Catalan giants Barcelona. Football talent scout Jacek Kulig described him as a “joy to watch” for a reason.
According to recent reports from Spain, via SportWitness, the striker will not be staying at El Pio-Pio beyond this season, due to financial constraints. The La Liga club cannot afford to pay his £78k-per-week wages, as per Capology.
This is certainly something that might be of interest to Pereira, who surely would not be opposed to bringing back such a talented player to the club.
Statistically on FBref, he has performed well in La Liga for Las Palmas, with an impressive 0.51 goals per game on average, ranking him in the top 18%.
Stat (per 90)
Number
Percentile
Goals
0.51
82nd
Shots on target
1.32
85th
Shots on target %
54.2%
96th
Goals per shot
0.17
65th
Goals – expected goals
+0.17
79th
Pereira has a real chance to revive Wolves’ season, and the same can be said for Silva’s career at Molineux. The Old Gold striker has not really left his mark on the club yet, but perhaps under the tutelage of the new manager, he can.
It will be fascinating to see if he can turn things around in the Midlands. An unlikely opportunity for a return to the club has presented itself, and it could be one both Silva and Pereira jump at and try to transform his career at Wolves.
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