Wolves transfer news: ‘Confident’ Nuno sends message to fans about new signings

Nuno Espirito Santo is “totally confident” Wolves will make the right signings before the transfer window closes, writes Tim Nash.

The Wolves head coach is said to be frustrated at the lack of incoming activity at Molineux this summer.

The club have yet to sign a player, with the only arrivals being the loan-to-permanent deals of Raul Jimenez (£32m) and Leander Dendoncker (£12m).

Wolves start their season on Thursday with the visit of Northern Irish part-timers Crusaders at a sold-out Molineux in the Europa League second qualifying round first leg for the club’s first game in Europe for more than 39 years.

Fans have become increasingly frustrated at a lack of signings. Olympiakos centre back Pape Abou Cisse is the latest player to be linked with a move to Molineux, and there were talks with AC Milan over the £23m-rated striker Patrick Cutrone.

But Nuno, who wants a central defender, midfielder and a striker, is sure the right players will be on board by 5pm on 8 August.

‘We have to work’

“I’m totally confident. We have time. We have to work, make the right decisions and do it,” said the manager. “It has to do with all the things that happen in the transfer window. This summer there were too many competitions – the Copa America, the Nations League, African Nations Cup, the Euro Under-21s, World Cup qualifiers, so all these things have delayed situations.

“But the more important aspect is that we bring in the right player.

“We don’t bring in a player just because we can bring in a player, he has to add something different that we don’t have. That requires time, analysis and good decisions.”

Nuno is very aware of Wolves’ history as one of the pioneers of European football.

Taking Europe seriously

Wolves laid the foundations for what is now the Champions League with a series of floodlit ‘friendlies’ against Europe’s best teams, such as Honved, Spartak and Moscow Dynamo, during the club’s glory days of the 1950s.

As such, Wolves are treating this tie very seriously and will be as competitive as they can be, mirroring the team they fielded in beating Manchester City to win the Asia Trophy in China.

The game is a sell-out, with Wolves expecting a crowd in excess of 30,000. Crusaders were allocated just over 700 tickets.

“I’ve visited the museum a couple of times. It proves how big Wolves are. So let’s try to do it again,” said Nuno.

“This is a big game for the club, 40 years without European football. So it’s up to us to make something special, so people once again are proud of us. It’s fantastic to be back at Molineux. What Molineux gives us is a real adrenalin punch that we must take to the pitch.”

Wolves wing-back Matt Doherty still hasn’t recovered from a knee injury, while striker Jimenez and utility man Romain Saiss only returned to pre-season training on Monday after extended seasons and are unlikely to be risked.

Academy graduates Dion Sanderson and Taylor Perry are in contention.