Wolverhampton Wanderers have already secured their survival for another season in the Premier League with six matches left to play.
The Old Gold are 19 points ahead of Luton Town, who only have five games left, in 18th place, which means that the Hatters do not have enough points available to catch up with Gary O'Neil's side.
Instead of looking over their shoulder, Wolves can look ahead and push to finish in the top half of the division, as they are only one point behind Brighton & Hove Albion in tenth.
They are seven points adrift of Manchester United in seventh, which makes a late push for European football seem unlikely, and this means that the club can safely plan for the upcoming summer transfer window knowing that they will have domestic competitions on offer.
Wolves' interest in teenage starlet
According to reliable reporter Liam Keen of the Shropshire Star, the Old Gold are interested in a possible swoop to sign AZ Alkmaar starlet Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro, who is also wanted by one of their top-flight rivals this summer.
The report claims that the club were exploring a deal to snap up the teenage colossus for a fee in the region of £2m last year, but they failed to get the move over the line.
Since then, Alkmaar convinced the 19-year-old titan to put pen to paper on a contract extension, taking his deal through to the summer of 2007, and it now remains to be seen how much they would demand for his services in the present day.
The outlet states that Wolves, who have also been linked with West Ham United's Ben Johnson this week, are still closely following the talented gem ahead of this summer, but they will now face competition for his services.
Premier League giants Chelsea are said to be following Owusu-Oduro, whilst Belgian side Anderlecht are also keen on him, which means that O'Neil will have to battle with those sides in order to land the goalkeeper's signature.
It may, therefore, take a big effort from the club to convince the starlet to turn down a possible move to Stamford Bridge to link up with the Old Gold.
Wolves' long-term Jose Sa heir
The 19-year-old talent may not be signed, if Wolves win the race for his services, to be the immediate first choice at the Molineux as Jose Sa has been in fine form this season.
Owusu-Oduro, who was described as an "exciting" talent by scout Jacek Kulig, has only made seven first-team appearances for Alkmaar to date but has kept an eye-catching 20 clean sheets in 36 games at U18 and Youth League level during his time in the academy.
This suggests that he would be a long-term signing for O'Neil, as a player who could develop and improve over time, and could arrive as a back-up to Sa, who the teenager could learn from on the training pitch.
Appearances
30
Sofascore rating
7.00
Save success rate
68%
Goals prevented
4.72
Clean sheets
4
As you can see in the table above, the Portugal international has prevented an impressive 4.72 xG throughout the Premier League season – only Emi Martinez of Aston Villa (4.78) has prevented more.
Wolves now considering bargain move for possible Ait-Nouri replacement
They’ve identified a versatile new player on the cheap.
ByHenry JacksonApr 16, 2024
This shows that there is no need for Wolves to replace Sa this summer and that is why Owusu-Oduro could be brought in as the long-term heir to the number one position, rather than with a view to immediately improving the team.
