Wolverhampton Wanderers look to be in the market for a new right-back this month and while Ethan Ingram is unlikely to be a first-team signing, it seems as if Julen Lopetegui is keen on recruiting the West Bromwich Albion defender.
In a recent interview with Football FanCast, journalist Pete O’Rourke shared the lowdown on a potential Wolves move for the 19-year-old gem.
He said: “Wolves are in the market for a new right-back and are keeping tabs on Ethan Ingram’s situation at the Hawthorns.”
His contract at the Hawthorns is also set to expire in 2024, with a report from Football Insider suggesting that an exit could be on the cards, with a new deal currently not on the cards.
The England U20 international has made just two senior appearances for the Baggies in his career, featuring in two League Cup ties across the past two seasons, but he is yet to make his Championship debut.
This suggests that he probably wouldn’t oust the senior options at Molineux at first, but he could solve two big problems in the long term.
Firstly, is the lack of defensively competent options at right-back in Lopetegui’s squad, with both Nelson Semedo and Jonny having struggled for form so far this campaign, with WhoScored ranking them as the 10th and 14th-best performers after some disappointing displays.
This has led Lopetegui to promote Dexter Lembikisa to the first-team squad in recent weeks, and Ingram could find himself competing with the academy talent for a spot in the starting side in the future.
Secondly, is the lack of homegrown, English players at Wolves. Since his arrival at Molineux, Lopetegui has made steps in the right direction to increase the Old Gold’s homegrown quota, with Craig Dawson and Daniel Bentley joining the squad, while Lembikisa and Joe Hodge have both been promoted from the academy setup.
Before this, there was arguably only Max Kilman who qualified as a homegrown English player in the squad, compared to nine players of Portuguese descent.
Therefore, it can only be a good thing that Wolves are looking to sign promising young English talents on the cheap, especially in a market where the price of English players is undoubtedly inflated.
Should the Old Gold complete a move for Ingram, either this month or another time, it feels like a low-risk, high-reward by Lopetegui.
