When Nelson Semedo signed for Wolves last summer, it was a landmark moment for the club.
Fosun were bringing a Barcelona player to the Midlands in a deal that could eventually rise to the £36m mark.
It was an eye-catching transfer; one that marked a significant statement of intent from the Molineux outfit. This type of deal was supposed to help catapult Wolves into the European places.
Instead, they have gone backwards with Semedo on the right-hand side of defence.
The Portugal international has struggled since signing but we shouldn’t really be surprised. The very fact Barcelona were able to sell him for a fee that could reach nearly £40m was baffling when you consider how he was taken to the cleaners by Alphonso Davies in the Champions League.
In the process of Barcelona being demoralised 8-2 by Bayern Munich, Semedo was dribbled past on three occasions, made an error that led to a shot and completed just one tackle all night. For a team who were so relentlessly on the back foot, it was a horror show from the defender.
Since penning terms in the Premier League, he has put in some wretched performances from a defensive point of view. Two games that spring to mind were Everton and Arsenal.
Should Wolves sell Semedo?
Definitely
No thanks
Against the Toffees, Semedo was given the run around by Lucas Digne as the French full-back was able to deliver six crosses. On a regular basis, the Portuguese failed to get close to Digne and that was evident for the opening goal.
The Everton defender got down the left and with Semedo nowhere to be seen, he was able to lay it on a plate for Alex Iwobi to fire home.
During that clash, Wolves reporter Tim Spiers took to Twitter to express the following: “A liability at the back but nothing wrong with Semedo’s attacking ability of late.”
Indeed, that perfectly sums up the 27-year-old’s time in England. Going forward he looks a constant menace but he’s often left wanting defensively.
That was apparent when Arsenal and Nicolas Pepe came to town. The Ivorian was a constant thorn in the defence, beating Semedo on several occasions.
All of this has led to a dramatic decrease in his transfer value. When he moved to Wolves, the flying wing-back was valued at £36m.
However, just a matter of months on from when he signed, he is now valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt; that’s a substantial decrease of £7.2m.
Clearly, he has not been at the top of his game since coming to the club. He has often been found out when playing as part of a back four but Wolves had their warnings before spending such a significant amount of money last summer.
Jeff Shi must be cursing his luck, especially after selling Matt Doherty to Tottenham.
AND in other news, Mendes magic: Wolves must sign “unbelievable” 95-goal gem from a “different planet”…