It makes sense that there is a somber atmosphere at Molineux right now, given Wolverhampton Wanderers’ current position at the bottom of the Premier League standings.
Although the Old Gold managed to salvage a win against Liverpool last time out, as Arne Slot’s Reds had to fight hard for a narrow 2-1 victory, Gary O’Neil’s team is still in desperate need of a victory after six league games without one.
The relegation-threatened team has quality in its ranks to turn around this terrible start to the campaign, as Mario Lemina and Matheus Cunha are both superb players on their day.
The significance of Cunha and Lemina to Wolves Lemina even presently serves as the West Midlands team’s captain, having assumed that role following Max Kilman’s departure to play for West Ham United.
He has shown signs of being a captain for Wolves so far this season. Last month, he gave his team a 1-0 lead against Newcastle United with a fantastic strike, but the Magpies rallied to win 2-1.
In addition, the Gabonese midfielder was outstanding in the team’s most recent match against the Reds, winning eight duels in an impressive 90 minutes.
Apart from the Wolves captain, Cunha has also been a standout performer, scoring two goals from the attacking positions in his six league games thus far, to at least cheer up the team’s otherwise dejected supporters.
Although Nelson Semedo, a Portuguese defender, has had a terrible season compared to Cunha and his 31-year-old teammate, both the Brazilian attacker and Lemina are currently guaranteed spots on O’Neil’s team sheet, but their wages pale in comparison.
Semedo’s wage at Wolves Semedo, who is also 30 years old, has really struggled this campaign so far for his lowly employers, which makes his high wage feel rather extortionate now.
The sub-par Wolves number 22 rakes in a staggering £80k-per-week for O’Neil’s men, as per Capology, whilst both Cunha and Lemina only earn reduced pay packets of £60k-per-week and £45k-per-week respectively.
Whist Lemina and Cunha tried their hardest for the cause against Liverpool, Semedo visibly struggled, with the former Barcelona man gifting the away side a late penalty after clumsily tangling himself with ex-Wolves hero Diogo Jota in the box.
Also failing to leave his mark on the contest in an attacking sense, with zero accurate crosses or long balls registered, Semedo could well find he’s out of his manager’s first-team plans for the trip to Brentford up next in the Premier League.
It’s not as if Semedo’s struggles were exclusively only on view last time out, with the Portuguese full-back below-par away at Aston Villa the match before too, having only won two duels from seven attempted as Unai Emery’s men eventually ran riot in a 3-1 victory.
On the books at Molineux since 2020, there may well need to be discussions soon over the experienced defender’s future at the top-flight strugglers, with his contract up next summer and his wage higher than a number of key first-team presences who are continuing to shine even through adversity at the foot of the division.
As Semedo now concerns about his future in England, O’Neil will be hoping his team can soon turn around their appalling form. The former manager of AFC Bournemouth is aware that some big decisions will need to be taken to ensure Wolves don’t become a sinking ship.
Read more news on
sportchannel.co.uk
Leave a Reply