Bruno Lage believes Toti Gomes can be part of his summer rebuild – but the Wolves boss is targeting an experienced replacement for Romain Saiss. Saiss, 32, is set to leave Wolves after six years and 216 appearances for the club after failing to agree a new contract. The Moroccan didn’t feature in the 1-1 draw with Norwich City on Sunday due to injury, but he emerged at the final whistle to wave goodbye to fans during the lap of appreciation. Asked whether Toti can feature more prominently next season,
Bruno Lage said: “The way he is playing, yes, but we need to improve the level. The line of replacing players like Saiss, is a tiny line. We need to understand that those kind of players are not easy to replace. We need to find them.”
Wolves could also lose John Ruddy, Marcal and Joao Moutinho on free transfers, while the future of talisman Ruben Neves is also up in the air. A huge summer transfer window awaits the club and Lage is keen to add experience to help the talented clutch of youngsters within his squad.
Bruno Lage added: “I think we should have one more striker and one more central defender, but we don’t have (them). The boys did a fantastic job to play for a lot of months with just three central defenders. First we need to replace well and then we need to bring in these kinds of players. Toti, Chiquinho and the younger players are showing some things now, but they can improve. We cannot give them everything now, we need to have experienced players with quality to be there and work with them, giving them confidence and experience and then in time, one or two years, they are ready to replace. I know how to do it because I did it before and I know the dangers. The club also knows and Max (Kilman) is a good example of the work the club did with one player who came from the academy. When the time and opportunity came, he was there and he had a fantastic season.”
