Wolves goalkeepers taken into consideration ahead of summer rebuild

The club are looking at several outfield positions and as some fringe players look set to move on, Wolves have their plan to give Vitor Pereira the best possible chance of being successful next season.

Among changes that could be made is the number one goalkeeper. While certainly not a priority in comparison to other positions that require recruitment, there are some at Compton that would like to see a change between the sticks.

Since his arrival in 2021, Jose Sa has split opinion. He was excellent in his first season and won both the players' player of the season and supporters' player of the season awards.

But in the years since he has proven to be an erratic goalkeeper who has superb shot-stopping ability but has a tendency to make mistakes, particularly with the ball at his feet.

Last summer was also a turbulent time for the Portuguese international. He almost made a switch to Premier League rivals Chelsea and in the closing days of the window, Wolves were relatively confident that he would complete a switch to Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, Wolves recruited Sam Johnstone for £10million from Crystal Palace.

But Sa's move did not materialise and the furious shot-stopper was left out of the squad against Nottingham Forest, after the transfer window closed. Then head coach Gary O'Neil described it as an 'unsettling week' for Sa.

One of O'Neil's biggest mistakes before he was fired was failing to land on a number one goalkeeper. Although he deserves some sympathy for a situation that was thrown in his lap, O'Neil should have been firmer on who his first choice was, rather than changing the starting goalkeeper so frequently.

Pereira made it clear from the beginning that Sa was his choice and that stability helped Wolves, even when Sa had bad games.

This summer, Johnstone is likely to leave and is attracting interest from Leeds, while Sa's future is another one to keep an eye on.

Wolves must prioritise other areas of the squad to improve first, but a perfect window could see a new goalkeeper come in.

Reflecting on losing and then regaining his starting spot, Sa said: “This is football. 

"We had to keep going and keep working. In the end, it is what it is.

“Of course, I believed (in myself). I always believe. I always work to come back to the top level and thankfully I did it. But I just worked hard and, in the end, it is what it is.”

It was a season that saw Wolves largely fight against relegation under Pereira masterminded their escape and Sa has since gone on to be part of the squad that won the Nations League with Portugal.

Sa added: "It (the season) was good. Although it was not what we wanted or what we expected in the beginning of the season, in the end, I think was positive.

“It was positive because of the way that we started and what we achieved after the hard times that we had all those months ago, so I can say that was positive in the end.

“It (relegation) was possible because we were in a very difficult period for us. But at the same time, we knew that we have good players and we could do more.

“Then when Vitor came, everything changed.

“I think the players understood that we needed to give more to help the club and to help ourselves too, because I think no one wants relegation in your career.”