While we can’t profess to have a detailed knowledge of Bruno Lage’s plans at Wolverhampton Wanderers, it is probably no stretch to assume that he wouldn’t relish the prospect of losing two key players on the eve of the new Premier League season.
When fit and focused, Willy Boly is Wolves’ most reliable centre-half.
Daniel Podence, meanwhile, is one of only a handful of players at Molineux capable of turning a game on its head with one subtle swish of his boot, one squirrel-on-a-phone line dribble, one defence-splitting pass.
At their best, Boly and Podence would walk into many a Premier League XI.
But therein lies a problem – one that explains why some Wolves supporters would not lose much sleep if, as talkSPORT suggest, the Ivorian and the Iberian leave for Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tottenham Hotspur during the final six weeks of the transfer window.
Will Daniel Podence and Willy Boly leave Wolves for Spurs?
While no one at Wolves really performed to their peak in 2020/21 – well, apart from the exceptional Pedro Neto – Boly’s form certainly left a lot to be desired at times.
His performance in the humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Burnley in the spring was as bad as any top-flight defender last term.
Having turned 30 in February, it may the opportune time to sell, especially if Spurs come in with a big bid. Wolves may have already found Boly’s replacement, too, in the similarly tub-thumping Yerson Mosquera.
Meanwhile, the £16 million Podence was rivalling Neto for star man status at Molineux before Christmas, shining in victories over Arsenal and Chelsea.
But the little winger looked a shadow of his autumnal self after tearing his adductor early in 2021, his performances going from instrumental to anonymous in the blink of an eye. There are doubts, too, about whether he is made for the physicality of the Premier League.
If Tottenham are willing to renumerate Wolves handsomely for Boly and Podence, who’s to say the Midland giants could not reinvest that windfall in two players with the consistency to match their ability?
Something to consider, then.
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