Wolverhampton Wanderers have seen an abundance of talent grace Molineux over the years, with not many names as influential in recent times as those that contributed to Nuno Espirito Santo’s rise to glory as manager.

The Portuguese coach both unearthed and signed some star names in Wolverhampton during his four-year reign, including the dominating midfield duo of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho.

The two midfielders, who were instrumental to the success of Nuno’s side, both bid farewell to the Midlands in the summer, with Moutinho’s contract expiring and former captain Neves opting to endeavour in a lucrative challenge in Saudi Arabia.

Newly arriving manager Gary O’Neil has been handed the task, among a list of others, to seek the midfield pairing to encapsulate the quality of the duo before his tenure, with deadline day capture Jean-Ricner Bellegarde selected as one name to occupy the area.

This summer was a difficult climate for O’Neil, and Julen Lopetegui before him, to make the necessary transactions due to Wolves’ ongoing Financial Fair Play (FFP) restrictions, partly caused by the great expenditure in the 2022 window.

Bruno Lage smashed the Old Gold’s transfer record fee to welcome Matheus Nunes that year, in a deal worth £42m, however, the former Sporting CP star wasn’t the only midfield ace said to be on Lage’s radar at the time. Step forward, Enzo Fernandez.

Did Wolves nearly sign Enzo Fernandez?

According to reports in Argentina in June 2022, relayed by Express and Star, Wolves were linked with former River Plate sensation Fernandez, a player who would go on to steal the headlines in England in January 2023.

The report claimed that Mathew Hobbs, Wolves’ sporting director, had travelled to South America in the bid to explore a potential deal for the then 21-year-old talent.

It was added that the midfielder had a release clause at River Plate in the region of £17m, a slim price for the calibre of talent that the Old Gold could have acquired that window.

A separate report in Portugal even claimed that the Premier League side were close to signing the Argentine before he made the switch to Benfica the following month.

What happened to Enzo Fernandez?

As relayed by Molineux News, it was reportedly Jeff Shi who ‘decided against’ signing the midfielder, whose first choice was Benfica among the many interested clubs wanting to capture his signature.

Shi will forever regret not sealing a deal for Fernandez, if talks were as close as suggested by the media, with Benfica realising his worth instantaneously, slapping a €120m (£103m) release clause in his contract.

It was a well-thought decision to include a clause of such expense in the rising star’s deal, as the Eagles found out just six months after his arrival in Europe.

Signed in July, and sold in January for a magnificent sum of profit, Fernandez finally made the move to England, as Chelsea coughed up a British-record fee at the time of £106.8m to welcome the Argentine to Stamford Bridge.

Benfica captured the midfielder for around €18m (£15.5m) in total (€10m fee plus €8m add-ons), and sold him not even a year down the line for almost 10x the price, telling of what Wolves could have had both financially, and quality wise, if they had remained in the race.

What is Enzo Fernandez’s market value now?

Previously lauded as a “phenomenon” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the World Cup winner has seen his market value soar over the years, aligning with his level of performance following his move to Europe.

At the time of his move to Portugal, the midfielder had an expected transfer value (xTV) generated by Football Transfers in the region of €16m (£13.8m), which has risen dramatically to the region of €100m (£86.5m), via CIES Football Observatory.

How much does Enzo Fernandez earn?

Other figures that have multiplied alongside his market value are his wages, with the San Martin-born whiz seeing his weekly wage rocket from £4k at River Plate, to £41.2k at Benfica, to then reach a high of £180k at Chelsea, via Capology.

From £209k-per-year to a remarkable package of £9.3m-per-year in less than two years of development, Fernandez has seen a fast rise in world football, and one that he deserves to relish as his level of quality stands out in most games he features in.

Why is Fernandez worth so much?

Over the past year, Fernandez has established himself as one of the best midfielders in Europe, carrying himself as a player with an innate and assured presence in the engine room thanks to his passing ability.

Such praise is supported by his numbers, with his passing averages placing him within the top percentiles of those in his position in Europe’s top five leagues over the past year.

As per FBref, the Argentine averages 10.10 progressive passes per 90, with such decimals placing him in the top 2% of that area, with him scoring particularly high in his average rate of attempted passes per 90, in which he averages 81.06, ranking him in the best 3%.

Compared statistically to renowned world stars such as Toni Kroos for his level of performance, Fernandez’s price tag seems to become more and more understandable with every game he plays, showcasing a high calibre at the age of just 22.

What could Enzo Fernandez have offered Wolves?

When considering the impact that the World Cup winner has had both domestically, and internationally on the squads he is a part of, it’s almost incomprehensible to think that Wolves could have snatched the orchestrator last summer.

Now that the likes of Neves and Moutinho have moved on, the Old Gold are missing the passing quality of the pair, which could have been resolved by acquiring Fernandez before his rise.

When comparing the former Wolves skipper’s numbers to those recorded by Fernandez in the Premier League last season, it’s clear to see just how much of a rocket Lage could have signed with reference to the calibre those at Molineux had become accustomed to.

As per FBref, Neves averaged 6.50 progressive passes and 0.83 progressive carries per 90 for the Midlands side in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, as well as recording an average of 0.95 key passes per 90.

Such figures were blown out of the water by the Chelsea maestro during his first taste of English football, where he averaged 9.77 progressive passes and 1.28 progressive carries per 90 for the Blues, totalling an average of 1.16 key passes per 90, via FBref.

Another area that the 22-year-old could have helped Wolves with is the financial gain they could have obtained if they were to have sold the midfielder on, in the same method that Benfica opted for.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, however not so much for Fosun in this case, who will be wallowing at the club’s decision to not pursue their interest in the World Cup-winning superstar.