The “Drastic” Decision Will Affect The Club’s Future, I Saw It Before

The “Drastic” Decision Will Affect The Club’s Future, I Saw It Before

Wolves will surely regret selling ‘crucial’ Bruno Lage signing after Gary O’Neil’s recent woes

Wolves entered the international break with their first three points on the board after beating Southampton but it didn’t manage to erase their woes.

It was a much-welcomed clean sheet for Gary O’Neil’s men, who had conceded 27 goals in 10 matches before beating the Saints 2-0.

Wolves have the worst defence in the Premier League after 11 games and that doesn’t look like changing unless investment is made in the transfer window.

Supporters are already cursing the club’s decision to sell Max Kilman to West Ham without replacing him, and that isn’t the only sanctioned transfer they could regret.

This season, O’Neil has encountered troubles in defence. His already thin squad has seen Yerson Mosquera suffer a season-ending injury while Santiago Bueno pulled up with a groin problem on national duty.

Depending on how bad Bueno’s issue is, Wolves could be left with just Toti Gomes and Craig Dawson as senior options ahead of the run-in, and that is far from ideal.

As much as they’ll rue the error of not replacing Kilman, they’ll equally regret selling Nathan Collins in the summer of 2023.

Wolves signed the 23-year-old from Burnley for £20 million in July 2022, as Bruno Lage bolstered his defence.

The Republic of Ireland international went on to play 26 times in the Premier League for the Old Gold and Collins was dubbed as ‘crucial’ before being sold to Brentford for £23 million after just one season at Molineux.

Given their current defensive woes and how difficult it is to find a quality defender for the above price, offloading him to a Premier League rival wasn’t the best decision.

How Collins compares to Wolves defenders

Collins is currently starring for a Brentford team who are sitting in mid-table after the first 11 games, three points shy of the Champions League places.

The defensive stalwart has also played every single minute in the heart of their back three and produced some metrics that emphasise his importance.

As per the Premier League’s official website, Collins ranks third in England’s top flight for aerials won with 40 in 2024/25 so far, beating the likes of Virgil van Dijk (38) and Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes (19).

To further showcase how much he’s missed by Wolves, let’s see how he ranks against current stars Bueno, Toti and Dawson for some key defensive and passing metrics.

As delineated by the above table, Collins beats O’Neil’s current trio across the important metrics, most notably tackles won in the attacking third, clearances per game, errors leading to an opponent’s shot and pass completion.

There was no doubt that it made sense to sell the Irishman for a small profit last year but given his improvement in a Brentford shirt, they’d surely take him back in a heartbeat.