Wolverhampton Wanderers news from BirminghamLive as we take a look at the squad at Gary O’Neil’s disposal until the transfer window reopens in January

Wolves started the summer looking to balance the books and still have a competitive Premier League squad for 2023/24. By the time the transfer deadline closed they had sold players for around £140m while spending around £27m in transfer fees. So, the balancing the books part has been achieved.

But have Wolves left themselves with a squad that can stay out of relegation trouble and maybe match or even beat the 13th -placed finish they achieved under Julen Lopetegui last season? We take a look at the options available to new manager Gary O’Neil.

Goalkeepers: There was tinkering rather than radical change to the goalkeeper department as Tom King was recruited on a free from Northampton, offering experienced back up to Jose Sa and Dan Bentley. King’s arrival also allowed Wolves to cash in by selling Matija Sarkic to Millwall for around £1.2m.

Verdict: Wolves are certainly no worse off for keepers than they were last season, particularly as speculation that Jose Sa might move on came to nothing. Instead, the Portuguese keeper proved his worth with an outstanding performance in the 1-0 win at Everton a fortnight ago.

Right-backs: Wolves have plenty of experience in this area after taking up an option in Nelson Semedo’s contract to keep him at the club and bringing back former favourite Matt Doherty on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid. Recruiting Doherty allowed them to send two of their young prospects on loan to the Championship, Ki-Jana Hoever joining Stoke City and Dexter Lembikisa going to Rotherham. They still have Jonny providing dependable cover for both full back positions.

Verdict : Wolves look well covered with the experienced Semedo and Doherty vying for the spot. Semedo has got the nod in the league games so far but Doherty did his prospects no harm with an impressive performance, and two goals, in the 5-0 Carabao Cup win at home to Blackpool.

Left backs: The re-emergence of Rayan Ait-Nouri makes Wolves look stronger in this position than last season when he didn’t appear to be in favour. The Algerian international has started three of the four league games and done a decent job so far after holding off competition from Hugo Bueno and Toti.

Verdict : Speculation that Ait-Nouri would be sold didn’t come to fruition meaning Gary O’Neil has an attacking option at left back. Bueno is also an attacking choice while the versatile Toti showed in the latter stages of last season that he’s a sound defensive choice at left back.

Centre backs: This looked the area most in need of reinforcement for much of the summer as the sales of Nathan Collins, to Brentford, Conor Coady, to Leicester, and Dion Sanderson, to Birmingham, left Wolves with only Craig Dawson, Max Kilman and Toti as their senior centre halves. However, they filled the vacancy the day before the deadline by recruiting Santiago Bueno from Girona.

Verdict: The decision to turn down Napoli’s £30m offer for Kilman provided reassurance there wasn’t a fire sale underway at Molineux. The £8.5m signing of 6ft 4in Uruguay international Bueno appears to have given O’Neil enough options in central defence, particularly as Matt Doherty showed against Blackpool he can play as a right-sided centre back if O’Neil switches to a back three.

Central midfield : Ruben Neves’ £47m sale to Al-Hilal deprived Wolves of a quality player and influential character but the club had planned for his move when they recruited Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes in January. Both look smart signings and O’Neil has competition and cover with Joe Hodge, Boubacar Traore and new signing Tommy Doyle.

Verdict: The £9.7m Wolves spent on Mario Lemina from Nice and £15m that Joao Gomes cost from Flamengo look money well spent. They are forming a promising partnership in an area where O’Neil does have strength in depth.

Attacking midfielders/wingers

Matheus Nunes’ £53m move to Manchester City on deadline day meant Wolves said goodbye to a player who showed his capabilities with an excellent performance in the opening game at Manchester United. But he wasn’t consistently that influential last season and the deal saw Wolves make a profit on the £42m they spent on him from Sporting Lisbon, albeit ten per cent of the profit goes to his former club.

The deal also gave them room to strengthen just before the deadline as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Tommy Doyle, Enso Gonzalez and Santiago Bueno were recruited, with Daniel Podence leaving on a season-long loan to Olympiacos this week.

Verdict : Much will depend on how Bellegarde and Gonzalez will settle in, although at just 18, Gonzalez should be given plenty of time to make the adjustment following his move from Paraguayan side Libertad.

Wolves only scored 31 league goals last season and that was because they didn’t create much, rather than entirely the fault of the strikers. The good news is Pedro Neto has started the season well, setting up three goals to put him joint top of the Premier League assists chart. Hwang Hee-Chan has also made a decent start to the campaign and O’Neil has options with Pablo Sarabia,

Centre forward: The one area where Wolves look a little short on numbers, following the departures of Diego Costa and Raul Jmenez. They inquired about strikers before the deadline, with Che Adams and Boulaye Dia on the list of possibles but have decided to go with Matheus Cunha, Fabio Silva and Sasa Kaladjzic as their three senior strikers, with cover and competition from youngster Nathan Fraser.

Verdict: The biggest concern. This is the area where Wolves look most vulnerable to injuries and suspensions before the transfer window reopens in January. Three senior strikers is a little light although Pablo Sarabia and Hwang Hee-Chan provide further options as a number 10. More reason for optimism is that Kalajdzic has started the season well with two goals as he makes his way back to full fitness after nearly a year out with an ACL injury.