Wolverhampton Wanderers could turn to Ligue 1 in pursuit of a new centre-back with Rennes defender Christopher Wooh catching the eye of Gary O’Neil’s struggling Premier League outfit.
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Following the £40 million sale of captain Max Kilman to West Ham United over the summer, Wolves boss O’Neil backed Yerson Mosquera to step up and secure a first-team berth on the back of his impressive loan spell at Valencia.
So when Wolves’ Mosquera suffered what could be a season-ending ACL injury during the recent defeat to Midland neighbours Aston Villa, O’Neil saw his centre-back reserves deplete even further.
The Black Country outfit now have only three fit, senior central defenders.
Craig Dawson and Toti Gomes struggled badly in the 5-3 defeat by Brentford last time out – former Molineux stopper Nathan Collins opening the scoring just to add insult to Mosquera’s very literal injury – with Santiago Bueno watching on from the bench.
It will come as little surprise, then, that Wolverhampton Wanderers are looking to the January window in order to add some much-needed depth to their paper-thin backline.
Wolves eye Rennes defender Christopher Wooh
Christopher Wooh of Stade Rennais is someone Wolves have been keeping an eye on.
At this stage, it is not certain how much Rennes would want for their 15-time Cameroon international. Or, indeed, how serious Wolves’ interest really is. But Wooh is on the radar.
The France-born giant – Wooh is 6ft 3ins tall – has blossomed into one of Ligue 1’s finest defenders since arriving in Brittany in an £8.5 million deal from Lens back in 2022.
He has started six of Rennes’ seven top-flight matches so far this term, and could become the latest young talent to graduate from the Lens finishing school and climb the rungs of the European game.
RB Leipzig striker Lois Openda, Crystal Palace enforcer Cheick Doucoure and former Manchester United powerhouse Raphael Varane all honed their talents at Lens.
“Christopher is an intelligent player,” former Sang et Or coach Franck Haise told reporters of Wooh when he was being linked with Newcastle back in 2022. “He has real potential for Ligue 1. I have complete confidence in him.”
HITC reported in September that Wolves were considering veteran free-agents James Tomkins and Paul Dummett to ease their defensive fears. Tomkins left Crystal Palace over the summer while Dummett’s contract at Newcastle United expired.
Nearly a month on, there appears to have been little movement in that department with Wolves seemingly preferring to stick with what they’ve got until the January window.
Gary O’Neil bemoans Yerson Mosquera blow for Wolves
“He’s a great kid and I’m absolutely devastated for him because of the energy [he brings],” O’Neil said at a press conference when asked about Mosquera’s injury a few weeks back.
“No matter how things go each week, he gives absolutely everything and he always attacks things and does things in the right way.
“It’s a big loss to us. It’s a big blow to the team but it brings an opportunity to others.”
Phil Hayword, Wolves’ head of high performance, spoke to the club’s official website about Mosquera’s current situation on Wednesday. And he feels that, while an ACL injury all-but ended Sasa Kalajdzic’s Molineux career, there is no reason to suggest the Colombian cannot bounce back.
“When a player injures their ACL, it’s one of the more complicated injuries because it’s one of the few tissues in the body that will never be able to properly heal itself,” Hayword explains. “If the ACL is torn, it will always need to be surgically repaired in order to heal.
“[But] ACL surgeries tend to be a lot more successful now than they were 20 or 30 years ago because surgical techniques have improved a lot. If you think about how a mobile phone has changed in the last 20 years, the same thing has happened with surgical advances.
“The instruments, the cameras to see inside the joint to visualise the anatomy, and the actual techniques themselves have all improved massively in the last 20 years. The surgery now is far superior to 20 or 30 years ago.
“So, it tends to be much more successful now than it was before.”