Wolves now keen to land “rapid” £30m winger

How strong will Wolverhampton Wanderers be this season?

Last time round, Wolves were rooted in the relegation zone when Gary O’Neil was sacked, only for Vítor Pereira to come in and save them, most notably enjoying a six-match winning streak in the Premier League, the club’s best sequence since 1970.

However, as the Old Gold prepare for an eighth consecutive campaign in the top-flight, arguably their two best players have been sold, namely Matheus Cunha to Manchester United and Rayan Aït-Nouri to Manchester City, so reinforcements will be required.

Thus, are Wolves about to sign one of the most exciting young players in British football?

Wolves seeking attacking reinforcements

So far this summer, as they seek to replace Cunha, Fer López has joined from Celta Vigo for a reported fee of £19m, while the signing supporters are really excited about is Jhon Arias’ arrival, joining from Fluminense for around £15m.

The Colombian international scored his first goal in old goal on Saturday, netting during Wolves’ 2-1 friendly defeat to Girona at Montilivi.

Now though, could he be joined by an even more exciting winger?

Well, according to a report by journalist David Lynch, Wolves are interested in signing Ben Doak from Liverpool this summer, with West Ham also noted to be “keen”.

Lynch also states that Liverpool rejected bids from both Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace, worth up to £20m, for Doak in January, with Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph claiming that he is valued at £30m, amid interest from Merseyside rivals Everton in May.

Wolves have only ever spent more on three players, namely the aforementioned Cunha, Matheus Nunes and the enigma that is Fábio Silva, but could Doak soon swap Anfield for Molineux?

What Ben Doak would bring to Wolves

Doak, who is still only 19 years old, joined Liverpool from Celtic for just £600k worth of compensation in 2022 and, even though he’s made just ten senior appearances for the Reds, he’s certainly one to watch.

Following his senior Scotland debut against Croatia in Zagreb last October, speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound, former Scotland midfielder James McFadden was gushing with praise for the teenager.

He labelled Doak “rapid”, while noting he possesses the “technical ability” to go with his raw speed, concluding that he “gets himself in really good positions to cause problems”.

Doak spent last season on loan at EFL Championship club Middlesbrough, making 24 appearances for Boro, before his campaign was curtailed in January by a hamstring injury.

Nevertheless, he certainly produced enough on Teeside to capture attention, with Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout praising his “on-the-ball bravery and unpredictability”, asserting that “he’s on track to becoming a top Premier League winger”.

Meantime, his then-manager at Liverpool Jürgen Klopp stated that Doak is a “good dribbler” who is capable of using both feet, while Léo Aschi of Give Me Sport adds that he is an “aggressive and powerful player” who is “blessed with physical attributes”.

So, let’s see how he compares to possible future teammate Arias.

As the table documents, while many of Arias’ statistics are more impressive than those of Doak, he did so in significantly more minutes, and the Scotland international is often more of a goal threat, with an exponentially higher proportion of his shots finding the target.

Also, worth noting that the duo were plying their trade at a similar level; Global Football Rankings believe the EFL Championship to be the 11th strongest league in the world, with the Brasileirão only five places higher.

Thus, while the Colombian might be more impactful straight away, he is 27 years old, so the fact that Doak’s numbers are, pretty much across the board, on par if not better, at just 19 years old surely makes him the bigger talent.

Put succinctly, Arias will prove to be a useful addition this season, but Doak could be a transformational signing in both the short and long term.