Wolverhampton Wanderers are set for a busy next few hours as they look to bolster their squad before the January transfer window officially slams shut.
The Old Gold have conceded a whopping 52 goals in the Premier League this season and only Southampton (54) and Leicester City (53) have let in more.
Naturally, Vitor Pereira is looking to bring in reinforcements to improve his defensive options ahead of the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
Wolves plotting deadline day swap deal
According to the Express and Star’s Liam Keen, Wolves are looking to bring in a familiar face to bolster their backline in the form of central defender Conor Coady.
The reporter claims that they are in talks with Leicester City over a “remarkable” swap deal on deadline day to bring the England international back to the Molineux.
He states that current Wolves centre-back Craig Dawson, formerly of West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion, would move to Leicester as part of the deal, if it goes through.
Keen stresses, however, that the discussions between the two Premier League teams are still at a very early stage, which suggests that this deal could go down to the wire this evening.
Why Wolves should sign Conor Coady
This could be a move that makes a lot of sense for Wolves for multiple reasons. Firstly, Coady is a former captain of the club and this suggests that he could provide much-needed leadership on and off the pitch during the hardships of a relegation battle.
On the pitch, the 31-year-old titan could come in to form a solid relationship with Emmanuel Agbadou, who has impressed since his move to the club in January.
Coady, who was once described as an “immaculate” professional by Sean Dyche, has struggled with the Foxes this season, without a clean sheet in ten appearances in the league, but has largely played as part of a back four, rather than in the middle of a back three.
Pereira has opted for a three-man defence in his time at Wolves so far and that is where Coady thrived during his first spell with the Old Gold, in the middle of that unit.
|
21/22 Premier League |
Conor Coady |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
38 |
|
Goals |
4 |
|
Clean sheets |
11 |
|
Error led to shot/goal |
0 |
|
Penalties committed |
0 |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
57% |
As you can see in the table above, the Englishman played all 38 matches in the Premier League in his last season for Wolves, in a three-man defence, and helped them to keep 11 clean sheets.
Whilst there is nothing to guarantee that he can get back to that level, Coady’s chances of being a success could be boosted by the fact he knows the club, the formation, and has played well in that role before.
This could make him a terrific addition alongside Agbadou, who has been sublime in recent weeks. The 27-year-old has won a whopping 72% of his duels and made 4.8 tackles and interceptions per game in the Premier League so far, which speaks to his dominant and aggressive defensive approach.
This means that Wolves could have the calm and composed Coady in the middle centre-back position, providing an assured presence and excellent leadership, next to a dominant force like Agbadou who can use the stability the Englishman offers to push on and win the ball back consistently.
