Wolves are set to lose a key player to Nuno Espirito Santo’s system, with right wingback Matt Doherty departing for Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur.
It was a surprising revelation, with Wolves willing to allow the Irish international to depart for a reported fee in the region of £17million, and it leaves Nuno’s side short of options in those wide positions.
They have shown considerable interest in Arsenal’s versatile Englishman Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who could end up coming into the club for a fee of around £20million, and the fact that he is both home-grown and can play in a variety of positions makes him an incredibly useful option. But Wolves are likely to be looking for another fullback to bring in too.
And one other player that the English media have been linking to Wolves is Thierry Correia. The 21-year old was a huge prospect at Sporting - and many fans were disappointed to see him leave - but after moving to Valencia for approximately £10million, he has failed to live up to expectations.
After being given an opportunity at Valencia early on, he looked sharp going forwards and on the ball, and was good in certain defensive aspects, such as his tackling ability, though he also received criticism for some of his defensive displays. Occasionally, he seemed to get caught out when marking his man, be it due to his starting position or his tracking back inside the box, as shown in his debut for Valencia versus Getafe and in the following match against Osasuna.
He was also included in Marca’s “Disappointing XI” of the 2019-20 Spanish La Liga season back in July - though so was Joao Felix over Eden Hazard, so take that with a significant pinch of salt.
Correira is a huge prospect, and has proven that he is a very competent right back for the Portugal youth teams, but doesn’t look ready to become a first-choice full back at the highest level. He would be more suited to a right wingback role though, and working with Nuno could certainly help him refine his game.
However, one Portuguese player that Wolves should be targeting to fill the void left by the departure of Doherty is Aurelio Buta. The Royal Antwerp right back has been tremendous since moving to Belgium having already shown some promise in the handful of games he was afforded at Benfica, and regular game time in a prestigious top-flight league has done wonders for his development.
With great attacking ability, possessing great speed, crossing ability and the confidence, physicality and dribbling prowess to take on his man, he is a natural right wingback - though he has also proven himself to be competent in the defensive phase of the game too, which is what gives him a significant edge over Thierry Correia.
Just 23 years of age, Buta has already been part of history at Royal Antwerp, helping to deliver his Belgian side an unlikely Belgian Cup last season by beating Club Brugge in the final, which also earned his side a spot in this season’s Europa League group stage.
He played 28 games for Royal Antwerp in the league last campaign, scoring twice and assisting 6 from right back.