'Extremely difficult': Matt Jarvis shares what the 'biggest problem' is for Gary O'Neil at Wolves right now

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Matt Jarvis knows what an effective Wolves side should look like.

The man born in Middlesbrough made 175 appearances in total for Wolves – scoring 21 goals and providing 33 assists – also earning an England cap while at Molineux for his dazzling displays on the wing.

Gary O’Neil could certainly use a player like Jarvis right now, as Wolves sit bottom of the Premier League after a winless start to the 2024/25 campaign.

TBR Football understand Fosun are backing O’Neil for now – and are not contemplating a change in the dugout just yet – although there is an awareness that results must improve.

Now, Matt Jarvis has shared what he believes to be the biggest problem for the 41-year-old at Wolves.

Matt Jarvis claims sales of Max Kilman and Pedro Neto have cost Wolves “massively”

Speaking to the Mirror, the 38-year-old pinpointed the sales of Max Kilman to West Ham and Pedro Neto to Chelsea as significant moments.

Jarvis said: “The biggest problem for him (O’Neil) is they sold his two best players in Max Kilman and Pedro Neto, and they have struggled to bring anyone in to cover those positions. It’s extremely difficult if that happens to any team.

“You don’t want to keep selling your players, but ultimately, with financial restrictions, I think that’s the reason why they had to do it with Kilman and Neto, and that’s cost them massively.”

Wolves made £40m from selling Kilman to West Ham, while £54m was received from Neto moving to Stamford Bridge.

On that note, Peter Crouch said he feels Kilman was a better signing for the Hammers than Neto was for the Blues.

The situation then became even bleaker for O’Neil in defence after Yerson Mosquera suffered a serious knee injury, leaving Wolves to consider James Tomkins and Paul Dummett – both of whom are free agents.

Gary O’Neil needs to forget Kilman and Neto

TBR Football understand Fosun feel they did not back O’Neil well enough in the summer transfer window.

However, that has now gone, and the man from Beckenham can only work with the players he has, something he excelled at doing last season after inheriting a mess from Julen Lopetegui, who walked out on the eve of the 2023/24 campaign.

There are rumours that O’Neil could change formation at Wolves and return to the wing-back system which worked so well at times last term.

Wolves have also sacked Jack Wilson from his role as a set-piece coach, so plans are clearly being made to improve on the currently bleak situation at Molineux.