Wolverhampton Wanderers have been credited with an interest in signing a teenage gem for Gary O’Neil as they look to continue their plans to build for the future.
Wolves building for the future but struggling in the present
It has been a nightmare start to the Premier League season for Wolves and O’Neil. After seven games, they are one of four sides without a win (along with Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace and Southampton), while they have taken just a single point for their efforts, putting them bottom of the table.
In their favour, they have endured one of the toughest fixture lists in the Premier League so far, with games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Newcastle United already out of the way for the Old Gold, but it remains a disappointing start to the campaign and O’Neil is under early pressure to turn things round amid fan disgruntlement.
Their poor form stretches into the back end of the 23/24 campaign, with Wolves having won just one of their last 17 Premier League games, but it is not yet expected to cost O’Neil his job even as it continues into October. It follows a summer in which they lost key duo Max Kilman and Pedro Neto, netting the club almost £100m which was not all reinvested in the playing squad.
When it was, it was spent on younger players, with no outfield player over the age of 23 signed, and only Sam Johnstone falling into that category across the squad. Now, they could well continue that theme with the club linked with another exciting young talent.
Wolves’ summer additions
Player
Age
Fee (as per Transfermarkt)
Andre
23
€22m
Rodrigo Gomes
20
€15m
Sam Johnstone
31
€11.9m
Pedro Lima
18
€10m
Tommy Doyle
22
€5m
Bastien Meupiyou
18
€5m
Carlos Forbs
20
Loan
Jorgen Strand Larsen
24
Loan
Wolves chase South Korean gem
That is according to South Korean journalist Joel Kim, who relays reports from South Korea that Wolves are now closely monitoring talented attacker Yun Do-Young ahead of a potential future move.
The 17-year-old, who Kim describes as a player witth “great potential”, has managed a goal and two assists in senior Korean League football thus far after breaking into the first team earlier this season, with just 500 senior minutes to his name.
Football Scout Trey took to X to dub him “one of the best prospects in South Korea”, and he has represented South Korea at youth level, making his U20 debut last month at just 17 years old after progressing through the U19 and U17 setups.
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Wolves, of course, already boast South Korean talent Hwang Hee-Chan, who arrived for just £15m from RB Leipzig and has been a hit at Molineux, scoring 22 times in 102 games for the Old Gold and becoming a fan favourite thanks to his work rate even if his finishing can be wayward.
Were Yun Do-Young to follow in his compatriots footsteps at a fraction of the cost, the 17-year-old may become a very popular signing in the Midlands very quickly.