Wolverhampton Wanderers made a host of squad changes this summer, as the Old Gold battled financial restrictions with maintaining a Premier League worthy side.
Many big names bid farewell to Molineux to both begin new chapters of their careers and generate profit for the club to balance the books with, with the club’s record departure fee broken twice in the window.
Former club-captain Ruben Neves joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for £47m, which was a figure blown out of the water on deadline day as Manchester City obtained Matheus Nunes for £53m.
As well as generating money through sales, Fosun will be spared millions in wages for those that have departed, with some players earning far more than what their performance levels portray.
One player that left Molineux this season temporarily is Daniel Podence, who joined former club Olympiacos on loan after his contract in the Midlands was extended to 2025.
How much has Daniel Podence cost Wolves?
Signed for £17m in 2020, Podence has had three and a half years to impose himself in the Premier League, with him leaving on loan this summer suggestive of the fact that he hasn’t quite made the impact that was expected.
Earning £60k-per-week at Wolves, the 27-year-old has so far collected over £12m in wages representing the Old Gold, amounting to 105 appearances in all competitions.
At the point of his arrival in England, the Portuguese winger had an expected transfer value (xTV) of just €8.1m (£7m), a figure that has alarmingly decreased to €5.6m (£4.8m) as it is today, telling of the needless expense Fosun spent to welcome and maintain him, via FootballTransfers.
Taking into consideration his wages plus his transfer fee, Podence has cost Wolves £29m in total, a price that will rise at the point of his return.
Another worrying element of the deal is that it’s highly unlikely that the Midlands side will generate any profit from a future sale, despite him extending his contract prior to his temporary exit, considering the decline in his market value.
Has he been worth it?
In 105 appearances for Wolves, Podence has scored just 16 goals, with his highest scoring tally coming last season where he netted six in 32 Premier League games.
Prior to the 2022/23 campaign, the 27-year-old’s highest scoring Premier League season was in 2020/21, where he was on the score sheet three times in 24 appearances, highlighting his lack of contribution in the final third.
Dividing the total expense that Fosun have spent on the Portugal international with the number of goals he has scored, it works out that Wolves have paid £1.8m-per-goal for the dud, who has been previously dubbed as “frustrating” by The Athletic journalist Steve Madeley.
What is particularly frustrating for the Old Gold is that the winger has got off to a flying start to life at his former club, scoring three in four appearances for Olympiacos in the Stoiximan Super League.
It’s destined to be a long way back for Podence at Wolves, who was criticised by Gary O’Neil before his exit for his ambition not being “aligned” to that of the squad, making any return look increasingly unlikely after the 2023/24 campaign.
While his future is unpredictable, one thing that is certain is that Fosun have been rinsed of millions by the forward, who has failed to repay such debts through his performances on the pitch since his arrival.
