By Ian Laird
@UneducatedU on Twitter
With the January transfer window drawing to a close the rosters are set for the rest of the season in the Premier League. Unlike last season when we saw Alexis Sanchez and Virgil van Dijk lock up moves to new clubs in the January window this year the transfer period, for the most part, lacked action. There were some big moves like Newcastle breaking their transfer record to sign Miguel Almiron, Chelsea adding Gonzalo Higuain and Pulisic, with the latter remaining on loan at Borussia Dortmund, and Bournemouth also spending big to bring in Dominic Solanke. With so few moves a lot of the story lines last month revolved around a lack of activity rather than actual moves that were made. With that in mind I decided to grade each team’s activity in the window by looking at whether or not they needed to make any moves and if so were the moves that they made adequate enough to help them reach what their goal should be for the remainder of the season.
AFC Bournemouth
Biggest Acquisition: Dominic Solanke (Striker) from Liverpool for €21.2 million | Biggest Departure: Tyrone Mings (Center-Back) to Aston Villa for loan
Bournemouth had arguably one of the better transfer periods in the Premier League bringing in three potential first team players who all carry their own baggage. Dominic Solanke has shown flashes of potential throughout his career, but he has yet to produce on a truly consistent basis so far. He still offers arguably the most upside out of any of the strikers on Bournemouth’s squad and if he reaches anywhere near his potential he will not only outpace Callum Wilson, who may be leaving in the near future given how many suitors he has attracted, but also earn Bournemouth a massive profit when they choose to sell him off. They also brought in injury prone Nathaniel Clyne who had been exiled from the Liverpool squad for much of the season with only nine matchday squad inclusions in the Premier League this season. At his peak Clyne was in contention with Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier for the starting job at right-back on the English national team, and like Solanke if he is able to reach anywhere near his former peak he will surely lock down the starting spot. As he is currently only on loan if Bournemouth truly want to keep him they may have to pay a big fee in the Summer to get him on a permanent deal. Their third and final addition was Chris Mepham, a young Welsh center-back from lower league Brentford. Unlike their other two transfers Mepham doesn’t have as easy of a route to the starting spot, but he is the ideal partner for Nathan Ake as Bournemouth’s center-back pairing for the future. Leaving the team on loan are Tyrone Mings and Jermain Defoe among a few other players but other than Defoe and Mings the players are fairly inconsequential. Mings will be a big miss at center-back given how thin it leaves them at the position, but it clears space for Mepham to get more time to develop than if Mings had remained with the team. For Defoe it is fairly similar as his loan deal allows Solanke to immediately move up in the squad ranking and have nearly a guaranteed spot in the eighteen man roster every matchday. Overall Bournemouth have been adding solid pieces to their team ever since they entered the Premier League and this window was yet another example of their shrewd business practices effectively adding incremental amounts of talent to the club.
Grade: A-
Arsenal FC
Biggest Acquisition: Denis Suarez (Central Midfield) from Barcelona for €2.5 million loan | Biggest Departure: Emiliano Martinez (Goalkeeper) to Reading for loan
Arsenal’s bloated contracts that they handed out to Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have seriously affected their ability to get the players they need to upgrade their squad. This January they were reportedly restricted to only loan deals and as a consequence they could only get the out of favor Denis Suarez from Barcelona. The on the ball technician was one of several attack-minded players that the Gunners were reportedly chasing despite their struggles on the defensive end. A failure to bring in any defensive help doesn’t bode well for the North London side who had just started to slip with no wins in their past six away games and have fallen behind a surging Manchester United to sixth place. Exiting the team were winger Emile Smith Rowe and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez on loan for the rest of the season. Smith Rowe is joining RB Leipzig adding to a growing list of young English players who are making the move to the Bundesliga while Martinez, a depth keeper, will be joining Championship side Reading. Given the fact that the main reason Unai Emery was unable to bring in adequate reinforcements for th team is the incompetency of his predecessors who missed badly on several contracts it’s hard to hold too much against Emery for the relative inactivity of Arsenal, but it is still disappointing to see how management seemed to ignore the glaring holes they had along their back line and instead were pursuing players whose roles are already held by several of their biggest stars.
Grade: C-
Brighton and Hove Albion
Biggest Acquisition: Alexis Mac Allister (Attacking Midfield) from Argentinos for €8 million | Biggest Departure: Ezequiel Schelotto (Right-Back) to Chievo for loan
Currently sitting on 27 points Brighton are nearly guaranteed to stay up this season, but they are still well behind seventh place Wolverhampton who will likely end up with the last spot in a European competition. With that in mind they were fairly conservative in the transfer window with no major first team additions and no real major sales either. They made three permanent signings in Alexis Mac Allister, Jan Mlakar, and Tudor Baluta who are 20, 20, and nineteen years old respectively. They then promptly sent all three back out on loan to their former clubs with Mac Allister returning to Argentinos, Mlakar going back to Maribor, and Baluta staying on at Viitorul. All three seem like long term projects who were signed with the hope of turning in potential stars in the future and then being sold on for a larger fee, and all three will offer different skillsets if they do break into the team. Mac Allister is the stereotypical playmaking midfielder who is skillful on the ball and will look to find and exploit the spaces in between the back line and the midfield. Baluta has experience as both a midfielder and a center-back due to his ability to not only break up plays defensively, but also how he can spray passes across the field. Mlakar is arguably the least polished of the three players, but his goal record in the Slovenian league is promising with nine goals in sixteen appearances and if that is able to translate at all to Premier League he will be incredibly successful. Several young players and depth players were sent out on loan during the window, but their departures should have little if any effect on their performances. Overall it was a fairly lukewarm period for Brighton as the impact of their moves won’t truly be felt until a few years down the line.
Grade: C
Burnley FC
Biggest Acquisition: Peter Crouch (Striker) from Stoke City for free transfer | Biggest Departure: Sam Vokes (Striker) to Stoke City for €8 million
For Burnley who are currently locked in a relegation battle the swap of Sam Vokes for Peter Crouch simply isn’t enough to inspire confidence that they will remain afloat in the Premier League. Their main issues this season have been their inability defensively to keep the opposing teams from scoring goals. The decision to only bring in a 38 year-old striker simply doesn’t help that at all and the window was either a demonstration of their faith in Sean Dyche as their manager or a conscious decision by management to be conservative with their spending. Either way Burnley will be in for a difficult run to close the season as they need their defense from last year to step up their performances and reach somewhere near the level they showed last season to make up for the lack of squad improvement through external additions.
Grade: D-
Cardiff City
Biggest Acquisition: Oumar Niasse (Striker) from Everton for loan | Biggest Departure: Gary Madine (Striker) to Sheffield United for loan
Obviously the transfer window was a tragic period for Cardiff who saw their record signing Emiliano Sala disappear in a plane crash over the English Channel en route to the Welsh club. The plane he was in has reportedly been found after a few weeks of searching and a body has been found in the wreckage, but it has yet to have been ID’ed so it is unknown yet if it is Sala or the pilot David Ibbotson. The loss of Sala put a pall over Cardiff’s season as it makes nearly everything else seem fairly insignificant. Nonetheless the league will continue to plug along and Cardiff did make two other moves to try and help their fight to remain in the Premier League in their first season following promotion. Oumar Niasse was likely expected to take a backseat role to Sala at striker, but now he will be forced into a larger role and potentially be asked to start for Cardiff. They also purchased Leandro Bacuna, a player who had previously had experience in the Premier League with Aston Villa before they were relegated and was most recently with Championship side Reading. Leaving the team were several players who had fallen out of favor and started to see their roles diminish in recent weeks. It would seem ignorant and out of place to place a grade on Cardiff’s transfer activity given the situation surrounding Sala, but while their two moves were nice upgrades they are easily the least talented team in the Premier League and I doubt the moves they have made will be enough.
Grade: N/A
Chelsea FC
Biggest Acquisition: Gonzalo Higuain (Striker) from Juventus for €9 million loan | Biggest Departure: Alvaro Morata (Striker) to Atletico Madrid for loan
Chelsea didn’t necessarily have the same volume of transfers as some other teams, but they had arguably the three highest profile transfers in the window with Gonzalo Higuain joining the team on loan along with Christian Pulisic, though he went back to Borussia Dortmund on loan, and Alvaro Morata has left the club with a year and a half loan to Atletico Madrid with the possibility of a permanent deal in the future being likely. Higuain has had an immediate impact with a brace in his second appearance in the Premier League and while he doesn’t necessarily have the top tier speed or physicality of some of the other top tier strikers in the world his movement and ability to find seams in the defense and get into dangerous positions is nearly unparalleled in the world. His addition not only allowed them to ship off the out of favor Morata, but it also allows them to move Eden Hazard back to his natural position on the wing and gives them a true number nine that they can rely on in big games. Pulisic figures to be one of the budding stars in the Premier League when he joins the team next season, and the move might also be to help prepare Chelsea for life after Hazard as rumors of a possible move to Real Madrid continue to rumble. Morata wasn’t the only player to leave the team as both Victor Moses and Cesc Fabregas departed after they too had fallen out of Maurizio Sarri’s picture. Overall it wasn’t a bad window for Chelsea who addressed their one major area of need while also shedding excess players that they didn’t need. They have a plan in place for the future now in Pulisic if Hazard does trigger a move away from the club and their present looks a lot more stable.
Grade: A
Crystal Palace
Biggest Acquisition: Michy Batshuayi (Striker) from Chelsea for €1.15 million loan | Biggest Departure: Jason Puncheon (Attacking Midfield) to Huddersfield Town for loan
Palace pulled off a coup to get one of the hottest strikers on the market in Michy Batshuayi beating out clubs like West Ham and Everton who were also in desperate need of a striker. They also brought on Bakary Sako after the left winger had previously been cut by Palace at the end of last season and then subsequently picked up by West Brom in October. In addition to those two moves they made the Jordan Ayew deal a permanent one after he had previously been signed on loan from Swansea, but he apparently played well enough for them to feel like he deserved a permanent move. Heading out the door last month were the attacking trio of Jason Puncheon, Jonathan Williams, and Alexander Sorloth. Puncheon and Sorloth were the only two receiving any real game time and both had only been used on a limited basis for most of the season with only 20 Premier League appearances between the two this season. With 26 points through the first 25 games reaching the magical 40 point mark to avoid relegation seems like it might be a bit of a stretch, and Palace might be in for a relegation dog fight. Batshuayi will definitely help in their endeavors to reach safety by not only finally providing a striker who is capable of scoring goals, but also by allowing Wilfried Zaha to play as a winger after the Ivorian had been shoehorned into the striker position multiple times season.
Grade: B-
Everton FC
Biggest Acquisition: N/A | Biggest Departure: Oumar Niasse (Striker) to Cardiff City for loan
Everton’s relative inactivity in the transfer window means they likely see the seventh place spot as an unachievable goal this season as Wolverhampton have opened up a five point gap over Everton at this point. They added no one in January while letting Oumar Niasse leave along with a trio of youngsters, Kieran Dowell, Mason Holgate, and Beni Baningime. All four of those departures should have fairly little impact on the performances of the team as Niasse had fallen behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Cenk Tosun, and Richarlison on the striker depth chart while Holgate and Dowell had each struggled to break into the squad and Baningime was with the U-23’s all season. A top half of the table finish seems in order but with how much Everton have spent in the past two Summer windows this has to be a disappointment for a club that was hoping to challenge the big six this season.
Grade: D+
Fulham FC
Biggest Acquisition: Ryan Babel (Left Winger) from Besiktas for €2 million | Biggest Departure: Aboubakar Kamara (Striker) to Yeni Malatyaspor for loan
Fulham have the worst defense in the league and yet they brought in only midfielders and forwards this transfer window. Veteran winger Ryan Babel highlights the players brought in this window with the Dutchman bringing in plenty of talent and top tier experience having spent time at Liverpool, Hoffenheim, Ajax, and most recently Besiktas. They also brought in former Premier League man Harvard Nordtveit who had played for West Ham with the defensive midfielder adding some versatility as he could potentially play as a center-back or right-back, but he is more accustomed to a role in the midfield and is underwhelming at the other two positions. Finally they added Lazar Markovic who has been one of the most disappointing talents to break into the Premier League in recent years as he has continually failed to make an impact at Liverpool and has spent nearly every season on loan away from the club since his €25 million signing from Benfica in 2014. It seems nearly impossible at this point for Markovic to reclaim the potential he showed prior to his big money move, but there is enough base talent there that he should provide some help to a floundering Fulham side. The exiting Aboubakar Kamara will be missed as he was the team’s third leading goal scorer even with most of his appearances coming off of the bench. The concern though shouldn’t be about goal scoring as the defense has been atrocious all season and the lack of upgrades doesn’t signal that things will improve.
Grade: D
Huddersfield Town
Biggest Acquisition: Jason Puncheon (Attacking Midfield) from Crystal Palace for loan | Biggest Departure: Rajiv van La Parra (Left Winger) to Middlesbrough for loan
Currently sitting at the bottom of the league table Huddersfield needed a big January window if they were hoping to somehow secure safety from relegation. Instead they actually lost more talent than they gained with two talented wingers in Rajiv van La Parra and Ramadan Sobhi leaving the club on loan while Jason Puncheon was the only major addition they made, signing the Crystal Palace man on loan for the remainder of the season. I already talked about this in my review of my Premier League predictions, but it seems like Huddersfield are preparing to soften the blow of relegation with their recent moves. They hired an extremely young manager earlier in January with Jan Siewart having almost no managerial experience prior to taking this job. The inactivity in the transfer period is likely to keep wages down so they can cope with the decreased revenue that comes with life in the Championship. Overall it’s hard to argue that what Huddersfield did wasn’t smart business, but if I am grading them on the talent that they added and how they have set themselves up for future success they have to get a low mark.
Grade: F
Leicester City
Biggest Acquisition: Youri Tielemans (Central Midfield) from AS Monaco for loan | Biggest Departure: Vicente Iborra (Defensive Midfield) to Villarreal for €10 million
Leicester really only made three moves with Adrien Silva and Youri Tielemans swapping clubs on loan deals with Tielemans joining from AS Monaco. Tielemans was one of the few bright spots for Monaco who have had an extremely disappointing season and he will bring plenty of talent and experience despite his young age. He has already spent significant time with the Belgian national team including during the most recent World Cup and was one of the most prolific midfielders to leave the Belgian league in recent years after spending four seasons at RSC Anderlecht. Silva wasn’t getting much playing time despite a nearly €25 million move from Sporting to Leicester two seasons ago and a change of scenery will likely help him while also allowing Leicester to shed an unnecessary contract. They also sold Vicente Iborra who was a more integral part of the team, but was also on the outside looking in following the return of Nampalys Mendy in the Summer after a loan spell at OGC Nice. I like the addition of Tielemans as he is a clear talent upgrade over both Iborra and Silva and will offer more competition to Mendy, Wilfred Ndidi, and James Maddison than either of his predecessors did.
Grade: B-
Liverpool FC
Biggest Acquisition: N/A | Biggest Departure: Dominic Solanke (Striker) to AFC Bournemouth for €21.2 million
After a great start to the season Liverpool have looked a bit sluggish recently and the possibility of Manchester City and Tottenham possibly catching them has seemingly increased as they continue to struggle to reclaim their early season form. With that in mind there was some sentiment that Liverpool might look to make some minor tweaks to their squad as any major upgrades seemed out of the question given their spending over the past two transfer windows. There was a need for possibly another defender, but nonetheless Liverpool opted to not bring in anyone while letting three rotation players depart. Dominic Solanke was sold to Bournemouth for a solid price considering he wasn’t getting any playing time, but if he fulfills his potential Liverpool could come to rue selling him for such a low price. Additionally Nathaniel Clyne was loaned out to Bournemouth after he too struggled to get into the squad following the continued growth and development of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Finally transfer flop Lazar Markovic was let go on a free transfer to Fulham after disappointing throughout his protracted Liverpool career. The absences likely won’t end up having much of an impact on Liverpool unless a slew of injuries cuts through their depth, but when you look at the other top teams in Europe they still appear to have multiple deficiencies. They need another top center-back to pair with Virgil van Dijk and they could likely use a better attacking midfielder given their best option in that role is Xherdan Shaqiri who has almost exclusively been used as a substitute in the Premier League. Their lead has now shrunk to just three points and with Kevin De Bruyne finally back healthy for Manchester City, City arguably have the talent advantage between the two teams. This seems like a potential missed chance for Liverpool, but they did well to turn a profit from some unused players and at the moment they still hold the top position in the league.
Grade: C+
Manchester City
Biggest Acquisition: Ante Palaversa (Central Midfield) from Hajduk Split for €4.8 million | Biggest Departure: Brahim Diaz (Attacking Midfield) to Real Madrid for €17 million
Much like Liverpool, Manchester City had an opportunity with the transfer window to firmly establish themselves as the top team in the Premier League with just one or two sizable signings, but instead they brought in two youngsters for future development. Ante Palaversa joins the club form Hajduk Split and Ko Itakura from Kawasaki Frontale and both have subsequently been sent out on loan with Palaversa returning to his former club while Itakura will join Eredivisie side Groningen. Both loan deals will last until the Summer of 2020 giving the players plenty of time to establish themselves as regulars with their loan sides and get the playing time they need to develop. City also sold Spanish teenager Brahim Diaz for a massive seven figure fee after the attacking midfielder voiced his displeasure about his lack of playing time. Real Madrid added the youngster and it is expected that he will be sent out on loan from the Spanish giants to allow Diaz to get the opportunities that he is seeking. Given the talent City have it is reasonable of them to think that they can make up the three point gap that remains between them and first place Liverpool without any additions, but they likely could’ve ensured that they win the title with the signing of an additional midfielder and another left-back to provide cover at the position until Benjamin Mendy is healthy enough to return to the squad.
Grade: C
Manchester United
Biggest Acquisition: N/A | Biggest Departure: Marouane Fellaini (Central Midfield) to Shandong Luneng Taishan for €12 million
Manchester United are treating the rejuvenation of several key players under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as their way of improvement rather than bringing in any new players. They have seen a turnaround in form from Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku, and nearly their entire defense in the past month and a half under Solskjaer. Their surge up the standings has pushed them past Arsenal into fifth place and they currently reside only two points out of a Champions League spot. Their only real business in the transfer window was the sale of Marouane Fellaini to China after the Belgian midfielder forced through the lucrative move following the evaporation of his role within the team. His loss won’t be missed too much either as the midfield is arguably the deepest area for United with six players who are more than capable of starting for them in the center of the park. After committing so much spending to their previous few coaches United’s hesitancy in the market can be understood as they likely didn’t want to commit too many resources to a coach that might not be there long term.
Grade: C+
Newcastle United
Biggest Acquisition: Miguel Almiron (Attacking Midfield) from Atlanta United for €24 million | Biggest Departure: Jacob Murphy (Right Winger) to West Brom for loan
Newcastle have finally broken their long standing transfer record with the purchase of Miguel Almiron from Atlanta United. The Paraguayan star has been one of the best players to ever play in the MLS and the hope is that he can find similar success in the Premier League. He is a powerful dribbler of the ball darting through the lines of opposing teams and will do well to connect the rest of the team with Salomon Rondon on the counter. They also brought in left-back Antonio Barreca on loan from AS Monaco filling one of Newcastle’s biggest needs as they have struggled to get consistent play from the left wing-back role. Most recently they have been playing Matt Ritchie at the position, and the normally attack-minded right winger will now be allowed to play in his more natural position. Leaving the team is left winger Jacob Murphy. Murphy has shown a decent amount of improvement since his move in the Summer of 2017 from Norwich City and at only 23 years old there is still hope within the club that he can continue to improve, but so far this year he has struggled to get regular game time making a loan deal seem like a smart move. Overall this window looks like a win for Newcastle as they have shown some real intent by spending big on Almiron, and it wasn’t mindless spending as he will definitely help them while Barreca is a more subtle but equally important move.
Grade: A+
Southampton FC
Biggest Acquisition: N/A | Biggest Departure: Cedric Soares (Right-Back) to Inter Milan for €500 thousand loan
Despite only sitting two points above the relegation zone Southampton have inexplicably decided to sell players rather than try to add pieces to help keep them in the Premier League. Depth striker Manolo Gabbiadini is one of the more manageable losses as he had been stuck behind Danny Ings, Charlie Austin, and Shane Long on the depth chart with young players like Sam Gallagher and Michael Obafemi also starting to earn themselves some game time. In the midfield Steven Davis won’t be too big of a loss either as like Gabbiadini he has fallen behind on the depth chart with five players well ahead of him. Defensively though the losses of Cedric Soares and Wesley Hoedt are much bigger. Soares had started well over half of the team’s Premier League games at right-back while Hoedt had earned thirteen Premier League starts as one of the center-backs. Both have been major contributors to the team and with no acquisitions in this window Southampton will struggle to replace them. The Saints were already struggling with the collection of talent that they previously had and the loss of two rotation players and two starters will only make that struggle even more difficult.
Grade: F
Tottenham Hotspur
Biggest Acquisition: N/A | Biggest Departure: Mousa Dembele (Central Midfield) to Guangzhou R&F for €5.5 million
Tottenham are making history for all the wrong reasons as they failed to bring in a player for the second consecutive transfer window. Their ability to stay in third and advance to the round of sixteen in the Champions League is a testament to the squad Mauricio Pochettino has built over the past several seasons, but it is hard to argue this is a good look for Tottenham. Their issues with depth are well known at this point with Harry Kane and Dele Alli expected to miss at least another month while many of their other starters have had to play an unreasonable amount of minutes since the end of December. Fernando Llorente has shown his typical inconsistencies since Harry Kane’s injury while Heung-min Son has been hot in his return but he can’t be relied upon to lead the line by himself. Part of the inactivity in the transfer window is due to the money they have had to invest in their new stadium, but it seems hard to believe that they couldn’t at least secure a loan deal. Their losses aren’t too bad with Mousa Dembele leaving for China after struggling with injury and fitness issues for most of the season and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou going on loan to AS Monaco after making just three appearances all season. They still have a seven point lead over fourth place Chelsea which should provide some safety until Kane and Alli are able to return to the team, but Tottenham are starting to fall behind the other big six clubs with their inactivity and they really need to start spending money soon as holes are starting to appear in their lineup.
Grade: F
Watford FC
Biggest Acquisition: Filip Stuparevic (Striker) from Vozdovac for €2.25 million | Biggest Departure: Stefano Okaka (Striker) to Udinese for €500 thousand loan
For Watford it was a fairly quiet window with only two major moves, a surprise given they are in the running for seventh place which will likely net a Europa League spot because the winner of the Carabao Cup will in all likelihood be a top four team that already has a European competition spot locked up. They are currently four points behind Wolverhampton but it is hard to see them making up that gap with their current roster as Wolves have more talented players at the top of their roster. The only purchase Watford made was Filip Suparevic a young striker from the Serbian league, but he will remain with his club, Vozdovac, for the rest of the season on loan. Exiting on loan was Stefano Okaka who has bounced around throughout his career unable to truly lock down a role with any club. This feels like a missed opportunity for a Watford side that are looking to separate themselves from the rest of the mid table sides and nabbing a Europa League spot would’ve been the perfect opportunity to do so.
Grade: C
West Ham United
Biggest Acquisition: Samir Nasri (Left Winger) from without club for free transfer | Biggest Departure: Reece Oxford (Center-Back) to FC Augsburg for loan
There were plenty of rumors surrounding West Ham particularly Marko Arnautovic who was pushing for a lucrative move to China before recommitting to West Ham. With the uncertainty surrounding Arnautovic the Hammers were seeking to add an extra striker, and even with Arnautovic they still could’ve used some help. They were in the market for Michy Batshuayi and Maxi Gomez though Batshuayi ended up with Crystal Palace and a Gomez move seems like it will be settled in the Summer instead. As a result West Ham settled for the previously banned Samir Nasri who was without a club, and so far he has played decently for the club with an assist in his first Premier League appearance. Leaving the club was Reece Oxford who hasn’t seen regular game time since he burst onto the scene at the start of the 2015-16 season and he will once again be going to Germany on loan. Much like Everton and a few of the other mid table teams in the Premier League there isn’t much incentive for them to spend big with no hope of breaching the top six and they are already well past the forty point mark which nearly guarantees safety from relegation.
Grade: C+
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Biggest Acquisition: N/A | Biggest Departure: Benik Afobe (Striker) to Stoke City for €13.5 million
Wolverhampton felt fairly confident with their position after they met and surpassed their expectations for the year as they currently sit in seventh place in the league. They made no acquisitions, but they signed Jonny Castro to a permanent deal after the left-back impressed during his time on loan at the club. Benik Afobe completed a similar move to leave the club signing a permanent deal with Stoke after spending the first half of the season on loan there. Wolves seem set to finish atop of the mid table group and will likely end up with a Europa League spot capping off an incredibly successful season.
Grade: B
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