The top 10 worst-ever signings Fosun have made at Wolves in their eight-year stay at Molineux.
Despite their ups and downs, Wolves’ owners Fosun have overseen a highly successful period at Molineux under their reign.
The club went from a mid-table Championship side to a solid Premier League outfit in just a couple of years.
Much of this is down to their transfers. The club have brought in plenty of incredible players to the club which has helped multiple Wolves managers compete.
However, many of these transfers did not work out and caused Wolves to lose a lot of money.
As a result, this article ranks the top 10 worst transfers Wolves have made under Fosun. This list takes into account the price tag, their time at the club and if Wolves managed to make any money back.
10. Phil Ofosu-Ayeh
Many Wolves fans might not remember who Phil Ofosu-Ayeh is. In Nuno Espirito Santo’s first season at the club, the Molineux side brought the right-back to England in June 2017.
While many of the signings that summer were highly successful at the club, Ofosu-Ayeh became a forgotten man at Wolves.
In his three-year spell at Wolves, the Ghanian did not play a single minute for the Old Gold. He was eventually released in July 2020 after two unsuccessful loan spells away from the club.
Ofosu-Ayeah then moved to Swedish side Halmstads BK, where he still resides.
9. Ola John (loan)
Another Wolves man who was not given a chance to showcase his abilities. Ola John joined the club on loan during the 2016/17 campaign from Benfica.
The winger had a successful period at Reading in the previous season where he played 33 times, scoring four goals. However, under both Walter Zenga and Paul Lambert, John was not given a chance to shine.
By the time of his departure, John only made three appearances for Wolves, totalling at 71 minutes of game time. His loan deal was then cut short in January and he was sent to La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruna.
8. Jesus Vallejo (loan)
The first Premier League signing on this list. Jesus Vallejo joined Wolves on loan from Real Madrid for the 2019/20 campaign.
It was hoped that the centre-back could provide competition in Wolves’ backline. However, this never came to pass.
The Spaniard made seven appearances for Nuno’s side, most of which came in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup. In these games, Vallejo did little to impress and saw little game time after September 2019.
As a result, his loan spell was terminated in January and he returned to Real Madrid where he is still contracted to to this day.
7. Ki-Jana Hoever
Ki-Jana Hoever joined Wolves from Liverpool in 2020 for a reported £10 million. The right-back was expected to provide cover for Nelson Semedo in his first year at the club. However, his performances did not impress either Nuno or Bruno Lage.
The latter Wolves manager publicly blasted Hoever in 2022, blaming his ‘lack of preparation’ on his injury against Crystal Palace.
Since then, the youngster has been sent on loan to PSV which was unsuccessful before now spending the last year-and-a-half at Championship side Stoke.
While Hoever has done well at the Potters, he is nowhere near good enough to play for Wolves again.
Matt Hobbs would be very fortunate to get half of what Wolves paid for Hoever if they do choose to sell him.
6. Willian Jose (loan)
The 2020/21 campaign was a tragic season for Wolves. Multiple injuries put a stop to any potential European hopes as the club finished 13th.
One of the biggest injuries was to star striker Raul Jimenez whose head injury against Arsenal ruled him out for almost an entire season.
As a result, the club brought in Willian Jose on loan in January 2021 as a short-term replacement.
The striker had a good reputation in Spain and had hit double figures in the previous campaign. However, in 18 appearances for Wolves, the Brazilian only netted once, in a 1-0 victory over bottom-placed Sheffield United.
Willian Jose never hit the heights expected of him at Molineux before he returned to Real Sociedad in the summer.
5. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson
One of many players who joined Wolves in the 2016/17 campaign, there was plenty of optimism around the fanbase for the Icelandic striker.
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson actually started really well for the Old Gold. On his debut, he scored past Rotherham before netting past rivals Birmingham later that month.
However, his form soon took a turn for the worst, and he was unable to score another goal until April despite being a regular starter.
He then departed for Reading in the following campaign after three goals in 48 games.
The only reason Bodvarsson is not higher on the list is because Wolves only paid £1 million for the striker.
4. Paul Gladon
Perhaps another forgotten signing, Paul Gladon joined Wolves in 2016 for around £1 million.
However, it became clear quite quickly that the striker was not up to standard. On his debut against Burton, he did little to impress and looked completely out of his depth.
After this, the Dutchman only made two more appearances before he was sent back to Heracles on loan.
Despite his lack of game time at Wolves, the striker struggled to seal a permanent move away from the club. This resulted in his contract being terminated in January 2019 after little success in England
3. Goncalo Guedes
Goncalo Guedes came to Wolves for £27.5 million in the summer of 2022. Immediately, the winger had big expectations after a highly successful few years at Valencia.
Yet, as each game went on, Guedes did little to impress. By Christmas, Wolves found themselves bottom of the table, with only 10 points from 15 games.
The winger was central to this issue with the Portuguese international having no creative output.
Upon Julen Lopetegui’s arrival, Guedes was sent out on loan to Benfica before joining Villarreal until the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
The 27-year-old’s career at Wolves looks all but over with Villarreal hoping to buy Guedes at the end of his loan spell.
However, Wolves would be lucky to get anything close to his original price. If the winger does leave England this summer, he will have just two goals to his name in 18 appearances.
2. Patrick Cutrone
Another striker who simply could not perform at Wolves, Patrick Cutrone was brought to the club for £23 million from AC Milan in 2019.
It was hoped that the Italian could provide competition for Jimenez up top. However, this never came to pass.
After a short time at the club, it became clear that Cutrone was not cut out for Premier League football.
A series of unsuccessful loan moves followed at Fiorentina, Valencia and Empoli before he left for Como in 2022.
Cutrone later admitted that he struggled at Wolves with the striker only netting three times in 28 appearances.
1. Fabio Silva
The unfortunate winner of this list, Fabio Silva has been a failure at Wolves since he joined the club.
The striker signed for Wolves under Nuno for a club-record fee of £35 million. It was believed that the youngster had a lot of potential, yet, this has never shown on the pitch.
Silva has now worked under four different Wolves managers but has never reached the heights expected of him.
At the start of the 2023/24 campaign, incoming manager Gary O’Neil gave the youngster a show of faith, awarding him with the number nine shirt.
However, Silva could not score a Premier League goal under his guidance and was soon sent out on loan to Rangers. Here, he has also been unsuccessful with his pricetag seemingly plummeting by the day.
Wolves would be fortunate to receive anything above £10 million this summer for the attacker.
If his time at Molineux does come to an end in 2024, he will leave with five goals in 73 appearances, with his last Premier League goal coming in 2021.