Wolves Fans' Verdict: Where should Nuno strengthen?

Rob Cartwright

Which areas of the squad need strengthening?

The most important area is goal scoring, so signing one or two strikers is essential. We also need a centre half and an attacking midfielder, together with cover at wing back.

I hope Nuno keeps last season's formation and tactics. There’s no reason to change it. There is an view that it suits the Premier League more than the Championship.

It certainly entertained and delighted the fans – I went to over 50 games during the season and I couldn’t wait for the next game. It really was that good.

Roll on June 14 when the fixtures for next season will be published.

Natalie Wood

Which areas of the squad need strengthening?

I’m hoping we have a busy transfer window because realistically I think Wolves could do with bringing in at least another four or five players to really compete next year.

We have a great team and presuming we manage to keep hold of them all we have a foundation for a very good Premier League side but when you look into it we do lack some depth.

Ideally I would like to see us bring in another goalkeeper and one or two centre backs. There is no doubt Conor Coady and Ryan Bennett built up a great partnership in the Championship but I’m not sure it will work as well in the Premier League.

Hopefully we'd get another full back and a couple of midfielders just to strengthen what we already have.

Then finally we definitely need two outright strikers, players who can score 20 plus goals for us next year. Afobe has potential and I think he has shown with the right service he can do the job but I’m just not convinced he can do it consistently in the top flight.

We really need players that are always going to be in the right place at the right time and have the confidence to shoot!

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

Which areas of the squad need strengthening?

A top class keeper, another imposing centre half, central midfielder and a top quality striker will seal the deal!

Heather Large

Which areas of the squad need strengthening?

While we had an excellent squad for the Championship, it definitely needs strengthening to give us a decent chance in the Premier League.

We were very lucky last season not to have been hit by that many injuries. I think, if we had, we would have struggled because we didn't have sufficient cover for key positions. We definitely need a proven striker or two, possibly another midfielder as well as other options in defence and a keeper.

I would expect us to spend a fair bit of money to aid our Premier League survival but as the club has already said it plans to keep the squad small, it will be interesting to see who they bring in.

Clive Smith

Which areas of the squad need strengthening?

Goalkeeping – Ruddy has done very well this season. The late goal v Norwich (h) is memorable for being a costly mistake, but that aside his performance level has been high.

Whether Norris is an able back-up is less clear. In the cup he looked solid and secure, but in the Sunderland game he made costly mistakes.

Defence – Coady and Boly would be in everyone's starting XI. Bennett and Hause might be able to play at the higher level, but two additions would be welcome.

Wing-back – On the left side we probably need a taller more physical presence than Douglas or Vinagre.

On the right it is less clear whether Doherty and the unseen Ofosu-Ayeh need additional cover.

Midfield – Neves is certain to be first choice, but with him and Saiss picking up 20+ bookings between them they are unlikely to play every game next season. N'Diaye and MGW are our only cover. Two additions are needed in this area.

Attack – Twelve months ago this was our #1 priority...it is the same now. Costa, Cavaleiro and Jota are similar options.

The support from Bonatini, Afobe, Enobakhare and Mir was sufficient for the Championship but will not be next season.

A strong, physical, goalscorer is a must, with a similar back up as well required. Potentially Afobe could be the third addition in this area.

Goal scorers in particular are very expensive and overall it is unlikely we will be able to secure eight players to improve all areas of our squad. We will be reliant on some players raising their level in the same way Saiss, Cavaleiro and Coady, for example have done this season.

How the likes of Enobakhare, Gibbs-White, Ronan, Mir, Buur and Donovan Wilson fit in is hard to predict, with the leap to the Prem considerably more difficult to bridge than the gap to the Championship, where they only made a handful of starts between them all.

Russ Cockburn

Which areas of the squad need strengthening?

In my opinion our biggest area to strengthen is up top.

I think we’ll sign Afobe, but I’m not sure he will be the main man and I’m certainly not convinced he’s going to deliver 15+ goals.

For me, he can sometimes be a flat-track bully against the smaller teams like Burton, Bolton and Birmingham.

If we are going to compete and not just make up the numbers, we probably need a marquee signing up top, so it will be interesting to see what Uncle Jorge and his little black iPhone can muster up. I’m pretty certain they won’t be Norwegian and past it.

Other areas to strengthen? Hmmm, if I lived in a utopian world, I’d probably look to purchase a top class goalkeeper, an established left wing back (Bertrand-esque), another pacey centre back to join BC (Boly and Coady, not Bloody (Simon) Coleman) and an upgrade on Saiss.

Whatever happens I’m going to sit back, enjoy the break, recharge my liver and let Nuno do what he does best…have a dream and then deliver it.

Adam Virgo

Which areas of the squad need strengthening?

We need a new goalkeeper. Ruddy has been great for us, especially as he cost nothing, but he also has too many errors in him and the Premier League isn’t forgiving whatsoever. I would keep him for his experience and as our second choice though.

If we don’t sign Vinagre then we certainly need another left wing back to cover for Douglas in case he picks up an injury or suspension.

We could maybe do with a new right wing back but if Phil Ofosu-Ayeh is fit and over his injury problems then it might not be a major issue. If there are doubts over that then we’ll most certainly need cover for Doherty.

We need at least one more centre half. Miranda and Batth aren’t anywhere near good enough for the Premier League and with new signings I’d expect Bennett and Hause to be backup.

Providing we sign Willy Boly permanently then only one centre back might be all we need to recruit.

We need one more central midfielder at minimum, possibly even two. At some point next season, Neves and Saiss will pick up bans due to yellow cards if this season is anything to go by and we can’t solely rely on Morgan Gibbs-White to cover.

If we decide to sign Alfred N’diaye then one midfielder could be all we need but I’d like to try and get two, especially someone who can be an upgrade on Saiss.

Cavaleiro, Costa and Jota should all be good enough for the Premier League. I wouldn’t say no to getting another forward for their type of position but it’s not as important as some other positions are.

We 100 per cent need a new striker but on the basis that we don’t sign Afobe or Bonatini then we will need two strikers brought in.

Chris Hughes

Which areas of the squad need strengthening?

The glaringly obvious positions of need are both wing-back positions and a striker.

We’ve been incredibly fortunate this season that Doherty has been able to play so many games without injury and with limited unavailability through suspension.

On the opposite flank we either need to sign Vinagre permanently to compete with Douglas again or to bring in another wing-back option if we decide against activating the agreed release fee we have for the Portuguese.

Up front I don’t expect Bonatini to join permanently following his struggles during the second half of the season and because I think he’s about a yard too slow to be an effective Premier League striker.

I also think we’ll be in for another centre half as well as the fantastic deal to bring Boly in permanently and will be looking for an upgrade on what we had in N’Diaye and Saiss this season to partner Neves in midfield, with the possibility that a new man arrives to replace Ruddy between the sticks too.

Sincere thanks to our eight contributors for their thoughts throughout the campaign. The Wolves Fans' Verdict will return next season.