Why Wolves should make a move for Cedric Soares in January

Back in April, a report from Daily Echo had claimed that Wolves were interested in signing Southampton right-back Cedric Soares in the summer.

The Portugal international, 27, spent the six months of last season on loan at Inter Milan, who despite having an option to sign him permanently in the summer, didn’t take it up.

That has seen the defender return to Southampton in the summer but he hasn’t played a single minute of Premier League football this season so far.

However, Cedric Soares did start the Saints’ Carabao Cup win over Fulham on Tuesday. Considering that Ralph Hasenhuttl prefers Jan Valery at right wing-back ahead of Cedric Soares, Wolves should consider reigniting their interest in the Portuguese and go for him when the winter window opens.

Wolves’ current option at right-wing-back is Matt Doherty, who was in stunning form last season as he contributed with 8 goals and 10 assists in 45 games across all competitions.

Since making the step up from the Championship to the Premier League, Doherty has been excellent for Wolves and helped the club achieve a seventh-placed finish last season.

The Republic of Ireland international, however, missed a large spell of pre-season with a knee injury and has had to be thrown straight back into the action due to a lack of options. As a result, he has struggled so far this season and we are yet to see the best of Doherty.

Adama Traore has emerged as genuine competition for the right wing-back role and has impressed so far when called upon this campaign. But Traore isn’t a natural wing-back and simply cannot be expected to carry on the task for the entire season. That’s where the signing of Cedric would make sense for Wolves.

Cedric has been a Southampton player since he arrived at St. Mary’s in 2015 from Sporting Lisbon. He is an attack-minded right-back and he would fit Nuno Espirito Santo’s system perfectly. He is excellent going forward and his energy could add a different dimension to Wolves attack.

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Furthermore, with loads of Premier League experience, he could offer real competition to Doherty at right wing-back and that could bring out the best in both the full-backs.

Verdict

Wolves will benefit greatly from Cedric’s acquisition in January and Nuno Espirito Santo shouldn’t think twice about making a move for the Euro winner.

As the Portugal international is represented by Jorge Mendes, the super-agent, who has a lot of his clients at Wolves, could play a crucial role in engineering his move to the Molineux.