Thomas

If you believe what you read in the papers, Kevin Doyle will make a straight choice next week between Wolves, Sunderland, Bolton and Fulham. Assuming this is true, who would your money be on?

Sunderland certainly have the financial clout and can probably offer him better wages than the other clubs involved. I just wonder whether he’d be a regular starter for the Black Cats, given their new found wealth and that might be something which could make him think twice about the move.

Bolton might present an interesting option for Doyle. If he finds his form he could become a first-team regular there, but the Trotters already have Kevin Davies and that Swedish bloke (great journalism there), plus I don’t think Doyle fits into their style of play, as they get a lot of joy from going direct, rather than getting it down and playing.

Fulham is geographically closest to Reading, so the transition might not be as difficult, which is something I’m sure players take into account. Something else that is going for the London side is European football and none of the other sides in the mix can offer that. On balance, this would probably represent the best move for Doyle, so I’m going to stick my neck out and wager this is where he’ll end up.

Then of course, there’s Wolves. We can probably offer the best chance of regular first team football, but that’s by no means a certainty with SEB at our disposal. We also have a nucleus of young, Irish players which is something he might find attractive. And if, as reported, he’s been to look around our Compton training ground, that must have counted in our favour, as it’s a fantastic facility. I can’t get this niggling feeling out of my mind though, that the last thing he’ll want is to move to a side he thinks might go down next season, leaving him in the same boat again. Out of the four, he’ll probably feel we’re the most likely for the drop, which could be fatal to any possible deal.

So I’m going for Fulham, but hoping he might surprise me and turn out in Old Gold next season.

Amongst all the rumours about Kevin Doyle signing a few days ago, there was a story emerging that Chris Iwelumo was in talks with Crystal Palace over a proposed move to Selhurst Park.

I have to say I’d be gutted to see the big man leave.

He was immense for us last season and deserves his chance to at least play a part in Wolves first season back in the big time. Whether he’s a starter or an impact player from the bench, I think he can help our cause.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see us draft in a quality striker and if that happens, somebody will inevitably fall down the pecking order. But it’s worth remembering that you can have 7 subs in the Premiership so there’s more places up for grabs in the squad. You’ll probably see 4 strikers in each 18 man line-up and in my opinion, he’s still our number 2 forward.

We’ve seen the points Stoke picked up last season from cashing in on set-pieces and with Iwelumo at our disposal, even if it’s just from the bench, we’re surely giving ourselves a good option.

Anyway, we’ll see what happens. Like everyone, I’ll look on with interest to see who comes through the door but I’ll also be intrigued to see who is shipped out.

Seeing Richard Stearman turn out for the England U21s in the European Championships got me thinking about next years World Cup. I couldn’t help but wonder if any Wolves players have even the slightest chance of making the 22 man England squad?

I’ve looked at our current playing-staff and as I see it there are probably only two players who could realistically force their way in and that’s Kites and SEB. But to make it a bit more fun, I’ve thrown Stearman into the mix and a couple of rank-outsiders, Matt Jarvis and Karl Henry.

Sylvain Ebanks-Blake

To my mind, SEB has the strongest chance of any Wolves player of getting into England’s World Cup squad. I think he’ll have to produce a very strong season and get somewhere around the 20 goal mark to stand a chance, but why not? I think he’s a natural finisher and given the right service, would have no problems finding the back of the net at the very highest level. And let’s face it, England don’t have a glut of top-class strikers at the moment so it’s an open race until somebody steps up. Could it be SEB?

Verdict: Good chance

Michael Kightly

We all know what Kites brings to the table; energy, pace, relentless dribbling and great creativity. Wolves certainly need a big season from him if we’re to have any chance of staying up, but if he does produce, can he make it to South Africa? My only concern would be that England already have a wealth of players in his position and I think he’ll find it incredibly difficult to dislodge the likes of Beckham, Walcott and Wright-Phillips.

Verdict: Very outside chance

Richard Stearman

He’s in the U21 squad, so that immediately stands him in good stead, but he’s not in the team as a regular and he’s not playing in his preferred position of centre-half. That means he’s not only got at least two centre backs from the U21s ahead of him, but all those involved with the full-squad. Added to that, he isn’t even a certain starter for Wolves come the start of the season, far from it. With all this to overcome, I don’t like his chances. I rate him very highly though, so just hope he can do the business for us.

Verdict: No chance

Matt Jarvis

Has never even been mentioned as a possible international of the future, which surprises me somewhat. He’s got everything you need from a wide man; electric pace, two good feet and offers a genuine goal-threat. If he starts the season and plays to his full potential, it won’t be too long until he gets identified as a very useful player. In terms of England, the fact he plays on the left, which is a notoriously weak position, certainly counts in his favour. I’d imagine Joe Cole will make this position his own but whose to say a good season from Matty won’t put him in with a chance. You never know who might get injured in the build-up to the tournament, which could just open the door.

Verdict: Sneaky outsider

Karl Henry

I’ll probably get stoned for even suggesting this, but I thought five players was a nice number to evaluate. Wolves’ captain still has to convince many of his own fans, let alone the nation. There’s no doubting he’s done an important job for Wolves over the last couple of years, breaking up play and feeding the more creative players. I don’t think he gets the recognition he deserves and alongside a quality partner in midfield, I think he could be the real-deal. This season will be massive for him and I fully expect him to start the majority of the games. Unfortunately though, I don’t think he’s got even the slightest chance of dislodging some of the powerhouses from the England midfield setup.

Verdict: No chance

It’s no secret that the area most Wolves fans are keen to see bolstered over the summer is the back four.

It seems like we’ve all been saying the same thing for the last 3 years, about the need for a centre half with pace, and that still holds true today. But this isn’t an article about what we need to bring in, but more about what we have already.

In the full-back area I think we’ve already got the players that will start in those two positions. Kevin Foley is nailed on to be our first choice right-back for the entire campaign, barring injuries or a serious loss of form.

Over on the left, you’d imagine it would be a straight shootout between Big George Elokobi and Stephen ‘I always find a way to get into the team’ Ward. Please don’t take it from that unoriginal piece of comedy that I don’t rate Wardy. He was immense at full-back last season and one of the big reasons we were so successful. However, I think you’ve got to believe that a fully fit Elokobi is going to give our defence much more ‘presence’, shall we say. That being said, I wouldn’t like to put my money on which player Mick will choose come the West Ham match.

In the middle, we’ve got Jody (assuming he signs a new deal), Stearman and Berra. Out of the 3 players, my money would be on Berra to start alongside a new addition with Stearman and Craddock providing backup. Now, I wasn’t entirely convinced by Berra from what I saw at the end of last season. He has a lot of good qualities and seems to position himself well, but there’s that problem of a lack of pace and I don’t think he’s particularly comfortable on the ball. Maybe alongside someone with those qualities, we’d see the best of him so I’ll reserve judgment for now. Personally though, I was always impressed with Stearman whenever I watched him. He looked calm and assured on the ball, decent in the air and had enough pace to get by. Yes, he made mistakes at times but I still think he was desperately unlucky to find himself on the outside looking in at the end of last season.

So, to my mind, 4 of our back 5 (including the keeper) are already at the club:

1. Hennessy
2. Foley
3. Elokobi
4. Berra
5. ? (Mancienne – we can dream)

There’s strong rumours circulating that Kevin Doyle is in talks with Wolves over a £6.5 million move from Reading. This is confirmed on the Express & Star website (if you believe them of course):

http://www.expressandstar.com/2009/06/22/doyles-wolves-talks-in-club-record-move/

Now I’m not here to confirm or deny these stories, but to give my opinion. So here are the questions you have to be asking yourself as a Wolves fan, should the rumours turn out to be true.

1. Is Kevin Doyle a good signing for Wolves?

I’d have to say yes. I’ve seen him play against us a few times and he’s always looked pretty tidy. He can come short to pick up the ball, but he can also get in behind and knows where the goal is. I think he’d compliment Sylvain very well so in that respect, you have to say he’d be a good addition.

2. Is he worth £6.5 million?

There’s no doubting he’s a quality player and he’s definitely worthy of being our record signing. But £6.5 million seems a lot of money to pay for a player who only got 2 goals in the second half of last season. But I suppose if that’s the amount of money it’s going to take to trigger the release clause, which I’d imagine is the only way Reading would sell, then that’s how much he’s going to cost.

3. If he’s worth £6.5 million, how much is SEB worth?

Hmmm…I’ll let you answer that.

I can’t say I’m at all surprised by the fact Wolves have only made two signings thus far over the summer. Of course, like all of us, I wanted to see proven Premiership quality coming through the door as soon as the season ended, but that was always being very optimistic.

But worry, we should not. Amongst all the panic, there are a few things we must remember.

Firstly, it is still early days in the summer transfer window and business won’t start to hot up until all the teams report back for pre-season training. That’s when managers really assess their squad and decide which players can be shipped out. This is when the wheeling and dealing goes into overdrive and doesn’t stop until the window slams shut. I’d wager right now that at least two of our summer signings won’t arrive until the season has started.

Let’s also consider the fact that the squad we finished the campaign with wasn’t really all that bad was it? I think it’s been far too quickly forgotten how well that team played at times last season. Now I’m not deluded, I know we need strengthening in certain areas, especially in defence. But if we kicked off against West Ham with our best XI from last season, I wouldn’t say we were nailed on to finish 20th by any means. I’m not suggesting for one second that we don’t need to make further signings, but I definitely feel we need to have more faith in the players we already have.

Of the two signatures we have secured, Nenad Milijaš is certainly the more intriguing. There’s no doubting we needed to recruit an all-action midfielder and he seems to fit the bill, at least on paper. Assuming nobody else is brought in before the big kick-off and assuming he secures a work permit, I’d imagine he’d probably start in the middle of the park alongside Henry. I like the fact he’s a left-footer as you immediately get that balance and if he can take set-pieces and shoot from distance, he’s certainly something we don’t already have.

Although not the most glamorous signing in the world, I wasn’t unhappy to see Marcus Hahnemann come through the door. He’ll be a good, experienced backup if he’s called upon and I’ve always thought he was a solid performer whenever I’ve seem him in action. I think the fans who weren’t happy about the deal are mainly those who are most frustrated by the lack of signings in general. Had he been the last of five or six players to be photographed holding the shirt, I doubt anyone would have even raised an eyebrow.

Anyway, that’s my two cents on the transfer situation so far this summer. Feel free to leave a comment with your own opinion.