Fosun have made some poor transfer decisions during their time at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Selling the likes of Pedro Neto, Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes for big fees certainly bolstered the bank balance.
It did leave the Old Gold weaker across several areas of the team, however, something that Vitor Pereira is having to try and improve.
One of the biggest mistakes the club made recently was selling Max Kilman to West Ham United.
Why Wolves must regret selling Max Kilman
Kilman joined the Irons for a fee of around £40m, which meant the Molineux side secured a stunning profit on him.
The centre-back has won 70% of his total duels contested in the Premier League for West Ham, while also losing possession just 7.6 times per game and recovering four balls per game.
West Ham haven’t exactly enjoyed the best season, but with Kilman, the club have an excellent defender who will only go from strength to strength as time goes on.
How Wolves could do with someone of his quality right now, especially as the club has been dragged into a relegation battle.
Has this been Fosun’s biggest transfer mistake? Or was selling another defender back in 2023 even worse?
Nathan Collins is now starring for Brentford in the top flight, and it looks as though the club could be rueing the decision to sell.
Wolves’ bigger mistake than Kilman
Collins spent a single season with the Old Gold, making a total of 31 appearances in all competitions for the club.
During the 2023 summer transfer window, Brentford began to show interest in the Republic of Ireland international and he was soon on his way to London for a reported £23m transfer fee.
This now looks like a bargain. Stephen Kenny, Collins’ former Ireland manager, lauded him in 2022, saying:
“Nathan has established himself in the team and has been really exceptional over the four matches. His decision-making is remarkable for someone so young and it’s a special goal and he deserves special credit for it.”
For the Bees this season, the 23-year-old has been in excellent form indeed. Across 26 Premier League games, the centre-back has completed 87% of his passes, averages 1.2 tackles, makes 0.8 interceptions and wins an impressive 5.2 total duels per game – a success rate of 63% – in the top flight.
|
Nathan Collins’ PL stats since joining Brentford |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Metric (per 90) |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
Accurate passes |
37.4 |
47 |
|
Tackles |
1.2 |
1.2 |
|
Total duels won |
4.5 |
5.2 |
|
Balls recovered |
4.3 |
4.5 |
|
Interceptions |
1.4 |
0.8 |
Against Leicester City on Friday evening, he made 12 clearances, was accurate with 60% of his long balls and finished the game with a 90% pass success rate.
There is no doubt Thomas Frank is now getting the best out of the former Wolves star and the decision to sell him two years ago is one that will surely be looked back on as a poor one.
Wolves have conceded 54 goals in the top flight this season, the third-worst defensive record in the division.
If they had Collins at the heart of their defence, things may have looked a lot more promising.
