Wolverhampton Wanderers are facing up to the perils that many of their supporters predicted in August. For far too long Wolves have banked on an impeccable injury record, but their luck has deserted them in the last two seasons. Nuno Espirito Santo bemoaned his luck at times last season, and his successor Bruno Lage isn’t having it any easier. When Wolves face Burnley at Molineux on Wednesday night Lage will be without six first team players – four of whom are ruled out indefinitely.
Bruno Lage said: “I have to find solutions. I talked about the squad in the beginning of the season to our fans, so they can try to understand my ideas. I haven’t changed my mind. I want a squad with competition, with two top players for each position. That is how you build up a team.”
Lage has used just 18 players in the Premier League this season – the joint lowest in the league. The only club with the same tally is Burnley, but the 18th-placed Clarets are 11 points and 12 places below Wolves to further highlight the wonderful job Lage has done to date.
Poor planning, on the club’s part, means Lage will see his squad stripped of Romain Saiss and Boly for up to one month at the end of December as they jet off for the Africa Cup of Nations. Yerson Mosquera remains on the side-lines, so Lage will be left with two centre-backs in Conor Coady and Max Kilman. Recalling Dion Sanderson is an option, but Lage would ideally like Fosun to address the issue properly in the transfer market. January will be a defining month for Wolves and Lage deserves the backing he didn’t receive in the summer. Ever the realist,
Bruno Lage explained: “We need to understand the financial part. January is sometimes a difficult month, so we need to understand the best deals. If the best deal comes with the right player, for me it’s good. The main point for January is that everyone should continue with us. For me, no one goes. Everyone continues with us. Maybe we need one or two players to improve our squad.”
