The mood around Molineux at the moment is understandably sombre, as Wolverhampton Wanderers currently find themselves right at the bottom of the Premier League pile.
There were some crumbs of positivity for the Old Gold to cling onto last time out versus Liverpool, as Arne Slot’s Reds had to battle it out to pick up a slim 2-1 win, but Gary O’Neil’s men still find themselves desperately searching for a win after six league games without one.
There is obvious quality in the ranks to turn around this dire start to the campaign, however, with Mario Lemina and Matheus Cunha both classy players on their day for the relegation-threatened outfit.
Cunha and Lemina's importance to Wolves
Lemina even now adorns the captain’s armband for the West Midlands side, having taken over those duties after Max Kilman’s exit to West Ham United.
He has played like a captain figure in glimpses for Wolves so far this campaign, with this fantastic strike against Newcastle United last month gifting his side a 1-0 lead, before the Magpies clawed their way back into the game to win 2-1.
Moreover, the Gabonese midfielder shone last time out against the Reds too, as a steely Old Gold side didn’t roll over for Slot’s men to convincingly win, with eight duels won across his impressive 90 minutes.
Cunha has also been a top performer away from the Wolves captain, having fired home two strikes from the attacking spots from six league games to date, to at least raise some smiles amongst an otherwise despondent fanbase.
Both the Brazilian attacker and Lemina are guaranteed names on O’Neil’s teamsheet currently, yet find their wages pale in comparison to that of Nelson Semedo’s, despite the Portuguese defender having a wretched time of things this season contrasted with Cunha and his 31-year-old teammate.
Semedo's wage at Wolves
Semedo, who is also 30 years of age himself, has really struggled this campaign so far for his lowly employers, which makes his high wage feel rather extortionate now.
The sub-par Wolves number 22 rakes in a staggering £80k-per-week for O’Neil’s men, as per Capology, whilst both Cunha and Lemina only earn reduced pay packets of £60k-per-week and £45k-per-week respectively.
Stat
Semedo
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
58
Accurate passes
30/36 (83%)
Accurate crosses
0/2
Accurate long balls
0/5
Total duels won
6/12
Penalty committed
1
Whist Lemina and Cunha tried their hardest for the cause against Liverpool, Semedo visibly struggled, with the former Barcelona man gifting the away side a late penalty after clumsily tangling himself with ex-Wolves hero Diogo Jota in the box.
Also failing to leave his mark on the contest in an attacking sense, with zero accurate crosses or long balls registered, Semedo could well find he’s out of his manager’s first-team plans for the trip to Brentford up next in the Premier League.
It’s not as if Semedo’s struggles were exclusively only on view last time out, with the Portuguese full-back below-par away at Aston Villa the match before too, having only won two duels from seven attempted as Unai Emery’s men eventually ran riot in a 3-1 victory.
On the books at Molineux since 2020, there may well need to be discussions soon over the experienced defender’s future at the top-flight strugglers, with his contract up next summer and his wage higher than a number of key first-team presences who are continuing to shine even through adversity at the foot of the division.
O’Neil will hope his side can turn around their woeful form soon, with the former AFC Bournemouth manager aware that some major decisions will need to be made to ensure Wolves don’t become a sinking ship, as Semedo now worries about his future in England.
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