“He’s already mentioned that he doesn’t want to return to Molineux, I think he will move on, one year left, he’s done very well at Olympiacos this season”- Journalist says Wolves now expected to take huge loss on Daniel Podence with club expected to sell flop for a third of what they paid

Wolves will have a lot of work to do in the summer to ensure Gary O’Neil’s squad can progress from the 2023/24 season, with one player’s future in serious doubt.

It’s poised to be a busy summer for Gary O’Neil at Molineux, as the English manager sets out to bolster his squad ahead of the 2024/25 calendar.  A 14th-place finish and a five-point improvement on their tally of 2022/23 rounded off an encouraging debut campaign for O’Neil in the Midlands, with early signs showing that he is the perfect man for the job. 

For all of the work that went into improving Wolves on the pitch, the boss isn’t expected to get much rest in the summer, with one great task on his hands being the assessment of the 15 players set to return from loan spells. 

O’Neil admitted he’d ‘never’ seen so many players on loan at a club before, with one star’s future at Molineux in serious doubt. 

Liam Keen says Wolves would be lucky to get £5m for Daniel Podence this summer 

Daniel Podence is one player who will likely leave Wolves in the summer as he approaches the final year of his contract.  The 28-year-old spent the season on loan with former club Olympiacos and impressed however, journalist Liam Keen has explained that the Old Gold would now ‘do well’  to get even £5m for the winger.

Speaking on The Keen & Judah Show, the Wolves expert said:

“Gary O’Neil is talking a lot about the culture of the club and Daniel Podence, in my opinion, is one that I don’t think will fit that culture or will fit what O’Neil wants.

“I think he will move on, one year left, he’s done very well at Olympiacos this season and he’s already mentioned that he doesn’t want to return to Molineux”

“Would you get £5m for him? Potentially, that might be the top end for that. I think Wolves would do well to get a figure like that.”

Nuno Santo signed Podence for a fee of around £17m in 2020, with it now unlikely that the club will claim a third of such price with his sale this summer. 

While the winger’s performances in Greece haven’t gone unnoticed, what is notable is that Podence has struggled to mirror such levels during his time at Wolves.

In 91 appearances in the Premier League, the Portugal international has scored 12 times, a figure he eclipsed in Greece this season in just 46 appearances, scoring 15 goals and claiming 13 assists, via Transfermarkt. 

It’s expected that Wolves will part ways with the winger, who was seen crying on his final home appearance for Olympiacos, with Keen’s comments of him fitting into O’Neil’s system ringing true.

Last summer, the manager admitted that the club’s and Podence’s ambitions ‘aren’t aligned’, adding that the forward wasn’t ‘part of’ the squad’s goals prior to his exit, with all signs pointing to a permanent exit this summer.