Sport
Last Signing For Wolves Revealed, Will Be The “Biggest” In Their Whole Transfer Window
Better than O’Shea: Wolves looking at late move for “dominant” defender
Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers defied all expectations during the 2023/24 season to survive relegation, even when many believed they would face the drop and return to the Championship.
That was a sentiment shared by many, including the BBC Sport’s chief football writer Phil McNulty, who explained at the start of last term that he had a “very, very worrying feeling” about the Old Gold.
However, the Midlands club more than avoided the drop last term, finishing 14th on 46 points, which saw them end up 20 points clear of 18th place Luton Town, who suffered the drop themselves after getting to just 26 points
With 2024/25 well and truly upon us, McNulty has once again submitted his predictions, this time predicting Wolves to finish 15th, believing they “can avoid danger”. That said, they have made a poor start to the campaign, losing two out of two games and conceding eight goals
They’ve so far dropped points to Arsenal, suffering a 2-0 defeat to the Gunners, and Chelsea, to whom they shipped a whopping six goals. Given the fact they are leaking goals, they may well try and strengthen at the back before Friday’s deadline and have been linked with one man who could add quality in defence.
Wolves target Championship defender
The player in question here is Sheffield United and Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Anel Ahmedhodzic. After impressing during his time at Bramall Lane, the centre-back has been linked with a move back to the Premier League following the Blades’ relegation.
According to a report from TEAMtalk, the Old Gold ‘are set to step up their pursuit’ of the 25-year-old, after they missed out on the signature of Dara O’Shea, who signed for Ipswich Town instead.
The report explains that O’Neil is ‘desperate to add more cover and quality’ to his backline, especially after the disastrous performance on Sunday against Chelsea which saw them lose 6-2. The lack of Max Kilman at the back for Wolves, who joined West Ham, is said to be a big miss.
In terms of a price, there are rumours that Ahmedhodzic has a release clause worth £17m in his Bramall Lane contract. That is something that fits Wolves’ tight budget of a reported £20m. However, the Blades seem convinced that the defender will remain at the club this summer.
Why Ahmedhodzic would be a good signing
The Bosnian defender was a crucial player under Chris Wilder last season. Despite his efforts, he could not keep the Blades in the top flight. However, he did feature in 31 games, although it was a hard campaign defensively for Sheffield United, as they kept just one Premier League clean sheet.
Despite that, the Bosnian could be an even better signing than the aforementioned O’Shea would have been for the Old Gold. The Republic of Ireland international joined the Tractor Boys for a fee of £12m up front, with £3m in add-ons.
Whilst Wolves might be frustrated that they missed out on a top target, it could be a blessing in disguise that they now have the chance to sign Ahmedhodzic, who was described as a “dominant” centre-back by football talent scout Jaceg Kulig.
He is a superb box defender like Kilman is, and his stats on Fbref stack up well against the new Ipswich defender.
Per 90 minutes last season, the 25-year-old averaged 3.37 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes, compared to just two from the Irishman. The Bosnian also makes more clearances per game than Ipswich’s new centre-back, with 4.66 compared to 4.5, further reinforcing the fact he is a superb box defender
In terms of their on-the-ball quality, the Sheffield United defender once again trumps O’Shea. Ahmedhodzic averaged 1.46 progressive passes per game, compared to just 0.5 for the former Burnley defender, something that is crucial in O’Neil’s transitional system.
For a fee of around £17m, which is in the Old Gold’s budget, he could be the dream centre-back signing and an even better option than O’Shea, who is a good player in his own right, but not quite statistically as good as Ahmedhodzic.
It would certainly be a shrewd piece of business for Wolves late on in the window.
