I don't really think our signings have been a mixed bag. I still feel the majority have been either a success, or are players who have made positive small contributions showing promise.
One thing we have learned with Nuno, is he isn't one for knee jerk reactions. He thinks long term.
I anticipate that his comments post Sevilla would have been on his mind for a while. The club will be aware that the last window wasn't ideal. In spite of that, we've maintained league position, and improved our points tally. Nuno's position then is pretty robust.
Jeff Shi/Fosun will have seen we flirted with a potential top 4 finish. They will see champions league as realistic.
It is on record from numerous sources that the club invests heavily in scouting. Multiple page reports, not just on footballing ability, but other aspects of character that make the player. Some people have expressed concerns about aspects of our scouting. I'm not qualified to do so, however, what is clear, is we engage in a lot of diligence in researching players in multiple positions and multiple levels.
As a result, the club will be at a pretty informed position with regards to a number of potential targets. I guess the key issue now is how many things they are accelerating.
I'd also add, related to my initial point re Nuno, is that signing(s) does not equate straight into the first team. We've seen countless players now who have had to learn the system, and/or develop their fitness to enable them to play the role(s) required of them. However, I acknowledge the lift signings can give to a team and fans.
Even saying that, my football knowledge outside wolves is so minimal, that the vast majority of signings we have made in the fosun era has resulted on a "who?" from me.
Maybe a better way for me to put it is that it
feels as if the four windows up to this one have been a mixed bag so I had a more detailed look. I admit it was slightly sobering.
The first summer window was obviously great. Perhaps a classic promotion window; some great signings but also strong loans and, most importantly, not flooding an already strong promotion first XI with new bodies.
The first winter window was mainly 'just' turning Jonny's loan permanent (and tbh we were already doing well do didn't need to do much else)
Summer 2019 was, in my mind, the first stumble in that Cutrone and Vallejo, as we all know, didn't work out. But looking at it again, the big permanent deals of Raul and Donk could well have hamstrung us financially, something I probably dismissed a little at the time. Caught up a little in the hype of having rich owners and underestimating FFP?
The winter transfer window of 19/20 looks slightly better now than it did at the time; Matheson and especially Campana were never going to come into play for a while, but Podence (I'm sure we'll all agree) looks genuinely exciting and a little different from his end of season cameo.
So looking at it like this actually makes me a little less concerned. I still think we've found the last three windows a difficult balancing act, I wonder what real effect Thelwell going has had, and I wish we'd been able to integrate at least one player with the decent impact of Neto and Podence somewhere else on the pitch, but at least we haven't been saddled with any expensive flops either.
Having said all that, and not wanting to end on a harsh note, I think this window is a bit of a 'no excuses one' for me. No loans to make permanent, money coming in from Cav and Costa, second 7th place finish, and time to assess what we need to strengthen and who can do it. That doesn't mean next month I'm going to over-react if that doesn't happen, but it's definitely time for Fosun to try and step it up a level.
