Wolves have been linked with Ivan Fresneda recently, and the Spaniard could be the long-term replacement for Matt Doherty at Molineux.
According to AS, both Leeds United and Wolves have already ‘moved’ for the 18-year-old ahead of next month’s transfer window.
The teenage defender, who has a release clause of €30m (£26m), could hopefully end the Old Gold’s recent disappointing run of right-backs at Molineux, with the hope that he could live up to Doherty’s legacy at the club.
The Old Gold sold the Republic of Ireland international to Tottenham Hotspur in 2020 and have arguably failed to replace him properly, with Nelson Semedo and Ki-Jana Hoever both proving to be inadequate heirs to Doherty at Molineux.
During the right-back’s time in the Midlands, he made 302 appearances, contributing a hugely impressive 28 goals and 43 assists as he played a key role in Wolves’ impressive Premier League and Europa League performances prior to the club’s decline over the past couple of years.
While things haven’t worked out in the same way for the Irishman at Spurs, with the defender struggling for regular game-time under Antonio Conte, it seems clear that Wolves have certainly dropped off since the 30-year-old’s departure for north London.
The Old Gold spent £37m on Semedo in the hope that he could fill Doherty’s boots, but the Portuguese full-back has just two goals and four assists to his name in 77 appearances for the club, which suggests that he hasn’t lived up to attacking expectations. Indeed, The Athletic’s Tim Spiers perhaps put it best when he described the former Barcelona man as a “liability at the back.”
Hoever, who joined from Liverpool in 2020, is currently on loan with PSV Eindhoven after failing to impress in his 25 appearances for the first team, which suggests that Julen Lopetegui is in need of another right-back option if he is to turn things around at Wolves.
Fresneda may be inexperienced, with just nine senior appearances to his name so far, but he has certainly caught the eye with his performances in Spain.
Football talent scout Jacek Kulig was full of praise for the teenage defender in his scout report, describing the teenager as both a ‘complete full-back’ and a ‘tenacious tackler’, which is backed up FBRef figures which show him in the 95th percentile for this metric among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues in 2022.
The Spaniard certainly seems to have a huge amount of potential, so Lopetegui should definitely try to bring him to Molineux next month, in the hope that he can be the man to finally replace Doherty at Wolves.