Wolverhampton Wanderers have made an impressive start to life under Gary O’Neil and could now enter the market in January for a high-profile defender.
Wolves 1-0 Burnley
On Tuesday evening, Wolves secured a vital 1-0 victory over Burnley at Molineux, with a solitary strike from Hwang Hee-chan proving to be the difference between the sides as the West Midlands-based outfit moved on to 18 points from their first 15 matches played in the Premier League this campaign. O’Neil hailed his side’s “massive” victory over the Clarets in his post-match press conference, saying:
“It’s a massive win for us. I’ve watched a lot of Burnley, they’re very well organised and every team I’ve watched against them has struggled to progress up the pitch with the ball.”
“Burnley are a good side. It’s maybe disrespectful to say ‘job done’, because they won the Championship by some way and were big spenders in the summer. They (Burnley) have every right to be competitive at this level and no Premier League game is easy, so I’m really pleased. It’s a big win.”
Related
Wolves could sign a “monster” £25m Dawson upgrade
This £25m “monster” could be the perfect replacement for Craig Dawson at Wolves.
Generating momentum will be key for Wolves if they have designs on breaking into the top half of the league standings over the coming weeks and they will hope to record successive home victories on Saturday when Steve Cooper’s struggling Nottingham Forest side will make the trip to Molineux in an all-Midlands clash. Looking ahead to January, though, Wolves have now reportedly put their hat in the ring to sign a World Cup winner as O’Neil looks to bring in reinforcements.
Wolves eyeing Marcos Acuna move
According to reports in Spain, Wolves are interested in a swoop for Sevilla left-back Marcos Acuna, who is under contract at the La Liga outfit until the summer of 2025. The outlet claim that the Argentina international is valued at around €12 million by his current employers, which is a fee the Old Gold can pay for his services.
Marcos Acuna statistics in 2023/24 – all competitions (Transfermarkt) | |
Appearances | 13 |
Goals | 0 |
Assists | 2 |
Despite this, the Zapala-born man is an important presence at Sevilla so it may not be easy for Wolves to prize him away from his present environment, making the situation one to watch out for further developments in over the next few months.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola labelled Acuna as a “top defender” earlier this year following the Citizens’ UEFA Super Cup victory against Sevilla on penalties, which is praise that can be backed up by the fact the 32-year-old has won 1.5 successful challenges per match in La Liga this term (Acuna statistics – WhoScored).
With Jonny Otto’s uncertain future at Molineux leaving Wolves light in the full-back areas, bringing Acuna to the West Midlands in January could be a shrewd bit of business from O’Neil as he looks to bolster his defensive ranks, making this one to keep an eye on.
