Wolverhampton Wanderers may finally be able to ditch one of their most underperforming players in the coming months…
What’s the news?
According to CNN Portugal (via Record) Benfica are reportedly looking at re-signing defender Nelson Semedo in the summer.
Although his contract expires at the end of the current campaign, Wolves have the option to extend it for a further two years.
The 29-year-old joined the Old Gold in 2020 from Barcelona having previously been a member of the Benfica first-team squad between 2015-2017.
“Useless”
Julen Lopetegui has overseen a remarkable turnaround since taking over from Bruno Lage in November. The 56-year-old has only tasted defeat on three occasions, against Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United, while improving their form in front of goal, scoring nine times in nine matches having scored just 11 goals until the hiatus for the World Cup.
The Spaniard is certainly asserting his own stamp on the team, luring talents such as Matheus Cunha, Pablo Sarabia, and Mario Lemina to Molineux and the next step is to ditch those who have underperformed or simply don’t feature in his plans for next season, and Semedo should be one of those players.
The £80k-per-week right-back was dubbed “useless” by pundit Gabby Agbonlahor earlier this season and his performances haven’t exactly lit up Molineux.
Across 18 Premier League appearances this season, Semedo has registered an average rating of 6.67/10 via Sofascore which ranks him a lowly 17th in the whole Wolves squad and underlines just how poor he has been so far this term.
The defender also ranks fourth for tackles, seventh for interceptions, and fifth for blocks made per match, while he also ranks second in the squad for total cards (four yellow and one red) and it’s evident that Lopetegui needs to move him on either in the next couple of days or in the summer.
A new era is beginning to take shape at Wolves and there is no place for passengers who simply want to coast through matches. The former Real Madrid manager has high hopes for his side and ditching underperforming liabilities such as Semedo will only help his cause.
