Cast your mind back to before Fosun and Jorge Mendes became associated with Wolves.
Kenny Jackett was in charge, Benik Afobe and Nouha Dicko were the men tasked with scoring goals, and the likes of Raul Jimenez, Ruben Neves and Rui Patricio were nothing but a Portuguese Wolves supporter’s daydream.
However, one man was signed by Jackett in the summer of 2015 who would go on to become the pillar of Wolves.
Conor Coady.
The ex-Liverpool man – who is the only player left at Molineux from the 2015/16 campaign along with Matt Doherty – arrived from Huddersfield for a fee of just £2m, becoming the club’s second signing of that summer after Jed Wallace joined from Portsmouth.
Back then, surely few would’ve thought that the 22-year-old midfielder would become a colossal centre-back and club captain just under five years down the line – however, that is exactly what has happened.
Coady – now 27 – has made 224 appearances for the Midlands-based side, holding his own at Molineux despite the arrival of Nuno Espirito Santo and a barrage of top-class additions such as Diogo Jota, Joao Moutinho and others.
He has proven to be a remarkable use of cash by Wolves. If you were to divide his transfer fee by his many appearances, you would make the jaw-dropping discovery that Coady has only cost the club £9.96k per appearance, which is brilliant value for money.
Coady has become the pillar of Wolves, so much so that he is captaining them through their best period as a club for many, many years – he has skippered the side to the last 16 of the Europa League, and has also led them to sixth in the Premier League as things stand.
Call yourself a Wolves expert? How much did each of these January signings cost?
He truly was an excellent capture from Jackett, and with plenty of time left on his side at 27 years of age, Coady can still make his Wolves legacy an even greater one.
In other news, this update on a long-term Wolves target has proved that Fosun dodged a bullet…
