Wolverhampton Wanderers are struggling in the Premier League this season and are currently rock bottom in the league table ahead of the World Cup break, which will be troubling for both the club and supporters.
Indeed, there is still plenty of time to turn things around and Wolves will be hoping for a fresh start now that newly-appointed head coach Julen Lopetegui has taken the reigns and the Spanish manager will have the January transfer window to look to in an attempt to tackle the challenges the club are facing.
Lopetegui has already outlined his expectations and some of his plans for the transfer window going forward when Wolves return to action after Christmas in his first press conference this week:
“I agree because my responsibility is to try and improve. When the market opens we have this possibility and I think we are going to do that. I am not going to speak about names out of respect for our players.”
“We have to play the next four matches with this squad. We believe in this squad and we believe we can improve their performance.”
Although the manager will be thinking about incomings that can improve the team he will also need to consider the players that aren’t capable of providing Wolves with the consistency and quality they desperately need to retain their Premier League status not only this season but in campaigns to come.
One player who has struggled to make his presence known at Molineux is Ki-Jana Hoever, who this season was sent on loan to PSV Eindhoven after failing to impress former manager Bruno Lage but is now failing to make his mark in the Eredivisie either.
The Netherlands-born defender who was signed by Wolves for £13.5m from Liverpool back in 2020 has only made five appearances in the Eredivisie and the former PSV manager Aad de Mos questioned Hoever’s defensive capabilities, labelling him as such:
“Hoever is vulnerable on the inside. He is a central defender. He is brought in on the basis of his international games with the Dutch junior team, the Dutch U19 team and the Dutch U17 team.”
“To the eye, he is a nice player, but his weakness is of course his defensive qualities.”
Despite registering two assists this season, the Wolves youngster averages 0.8 interceptions and 0.6 clearances while only winning possession 0.2 times per game. Furthermore, he has only won 50% of his aerial duels, proving that he is not solid in his defensive play.
With that being said, Lopetegui must ruthlessly ditch Hoever when an opportunity arises to move the player on.
He is clearly not a defender who has been deemed a good fit for the club due to his loan move and the youngster is still struggling to prove to Wolves he has a chance at first-team football whilst on loan too.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/nxOaVjH
via IFTTT