Richard Stearman is just a few weeks into his Wolves return, but things already appear to be going wrong for the defender.
Towards the end of his first stint at Molineux, defender Richard Stearman was gaining a reputation for himself as quite the fan favourite. His leadership and determination had come on leaps and bounds since arriving at the club in 2008, and many were sad to see him leave to join Fulham last year.
In fact, some Wolves fans believe he was pushed out the door as the Englishman seemed almost reluctant to leave the club he had spent so long at. He was even born in Wolverhampton despite the fact he was raised in Leicester, so his connection to the club was quite strong.
So when he returned, the majority of fans were jubilant at the news. He would finally have another chance at making a push for the Premier League with the side that he always loved. Unfortunately, things have changed quite a lot in a year, and Stearman’s place in the starting XI is no longer a formality.
In one of his first games back for the club, the 29-year-old did not help his cause by giving away a penalty in the game against Burton Albion. Since then he has been dropped for the last two games against Newcastle, and he is now on the outside looking in as Kortney Hause takes his place in the first-team.
Things have fallen so quickly for Stearman that it begs the question: If he doesn’t get back into the squad, will he go down as the worst signing of the summer for the club?
The short answer is no. A bad start isn’t always an indication of how the future will pan out for a player, and with the abundance of new talent Wolves have brought in there are bound to be a few other duds that won’t pan out. When it comes to Stearman, at least his arrival brought a feel good factor to the club as well as a sense of familiarity.
If he can rediscover that focus and determination from a few years ago, there is no reason to believe he cannot capture some of that old form.
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