Wolverhampton Wanderers stay rooted to the underside of the Premier League desk after they had been overwhelmed 2-1 by Liverpool on the Molineux on Saturday.

Gary O’Neil‘s facet have misplaced 4 and drawn one in every of their opening six video games and are one in every of 4 groups within the division but to win a single match.

The previous Bournemouth boss has hit a sticky patch of type and trialled a brand new centre-back partnership in opposition to Arne Slot’s Reds on the weekend in an try to show the tide.

Toti Gomes and Santiago Bueno performed alongside one another for the primary time in a again 4, having solely beforehand performed collectively as a part of a 3, and so they – together with their teammates – gave up 2.53 xG to Liverpool.

O’Neil might want to discover a solution to Wolves’ defensive woes after it was revealed that Yerson Mosquera is unlikely to characteristic once more earlier than the top of the season, after he suffered a knee damage in opposition to Aston Villa.

There was a time when the Outdated Gold might have had a world-class centre-back on their palms in the summertime of 2019, however they ended up solely signing Jesus Vallejo as an alternative of their massive goal.

Jesus Vallejo’s time at Wolves

In the direction of the top of July in 2019, Nuno Espirito Santo swooped to signal the Spanish central defender on a season-long mortgage transfer from Actual Madrid.

The transfer didn’t embrace an possibility for Wolves to make it everlasting on the finish of the 2019/20 marketing campaign, nonetheless, and this meant that he was solely ever going to be a short-term repair for the membership.

Finally, Vallejo was not even a short-term repair for Nuno because the centre-back struggled to interrupt into the crew and solely made two appearances within the Premier League earlier than his mortgage was minimize brief in January.

As you may see within the desk above, Wolves conceded a whopping six objectives in his two outings within the top-flight, while he misplaced 4 of his seven floor duels and made one error that immediately led to a shot for the opposition.

Vallejo additionally performed 5 instances within the EFL Cup and in Europa League qualifiers earlier than he was despatched again to Actual Madrid, the place he stays to at the present time – having featured in one LaLiga match for the Champions League winners.

The Spaniard was the one central defender Wolves signed in the summertime switch window in 2019 however issues may have been so completely different if they’d been a tad extra formidable with their pursuit of one in every of their massive targets – Ruben Dias.

Wolves’ curiosity in Ruben Dias

The Categorical & Star reported firstly of August 2019, only a matter of days after the deal for Vallejo was accomplished, that the Outdated Gold had determined to finish their curiosity within the Benfica star.

It was claimed that the Outdated Gold had been eager on bringing the Portuguese titan over to England and that they’d been in talks with Benfica to agree a charge for his companies.

Nevertheless, they had been unable to succeed in an settlement with the Liga Portugal giants and weren’t ready to pay his launch clause to get a deal over the road, because it was set at £57m.

Maybe most frustratingly for Wolves and their supporters, it was additionally claimed that Dias was eager on a transfer to the Molineux if the 2 groups may thrash out a deal for him.

This implies that the Portugal worldwide would have accepted a swap to hyperlink up with Nuno forward of the 2019/20 marketing campaign, however the membership weren’t ready to smash their switch report to pay £57m for him.

While it’s onerous to begrudge, finally, a midtable Premier League facet from spending £57m on a participant who had but to show himself in a serious European league, additionally it is onerous to look again on this as something aside from one which obtained away for Wolves, given what Dias has gone on to attain in England.

Ruben Dias achievements in England

A yr after the Outdated Gold opted in opposition to pursuing a deal for the central defender, Manchester Metropolis swooped in to signal him from Benfica for a reported charge of £65m as they regarded to bounce again from Liverpool’s Premier League title success within the 2019/20 season.

Dias loved an unbelievable first marketing campaign in English soccer with Pep Guardiola’s facet and established himself as top-of-the-line centre-backs in Europe.

He gained the FWA Footballer of the 12 months, the Premier League Participant of the Season, and the Champions League Defender of the Season, which means that the £65m-rated ace was one of the best centre-back within the Premier League and the Champions League that time period.

The colossal titan was additionally named within the PFA Crew of the 12 months, the Champions League Squad of the Season, and the 2021 FIFA World XI.

Dias made 51 appearances in all competitions for Metropolis that season and helped them to win the Premier League title and to succeed in the ultimate of the Champions League.

Because the Portuguese large’s transfer to The Etihad, Manchester Metropolis have gained 4 straight league titles and one Champions League trophy, as they’ve asserted their dominance in English soccer.

Dias, who journalist Josh Bunting described as a “Rolls Royce”, has racked up 186 appearances in all competitions for the membership up to now and gained ten trophies.

As you may see within the desk above, the Portuguese star has additionally loved a robust efficiency within the present marketing campaign, serving to his crew to an unbeaten begin to the season along with his dominant defensive work.

Total, Wolves ought to look again at Dias as one which obtained away as they missed out on a world-class centre-back in 2019, who went on to be one of the best participant within the Premier League.