Fer Lopez has returned to Celta Vigo on loan just six months after leaving the Spanish club to join Wolverhampton Wanderers in a £19.5million deal.
The 21-year-old has started just three Premier League games and made seven substitute appearances in half a season at Molineux, and has made minimal impact under current head coach Rob Edwards.
Since Christmas, the Spaniard has featured in just 20 minutes, spread across two substitute appearances, in seven matches for Wolves.
Celta will pay all of Lopez’s salary and the Spanish club will also pay Wolves a small loan fee for the player. There is no option for a permanent transfer.
Celta are seventh in La Liga, behind Real Betis and a European qualification spot on goal difference.
Lopez deal sums up Wolves’ failed transfer plan
Analysis by Steve Madeley
Lopez’s return to Spain after so few appearances for Wolves seems emblematic of the chaotic, ineffective business that the club conducted last summer.
The 21-year-old has shown flashes of his obvious talent and vision but has struggled to find the pace and athleticism, not to mention the defensive discipline, to hold his own in the Premier League.
The fact Wolves spent almost £20m for a young player with just seven La Liga starts and made him the first signing of the summer, only to find him so ill-suited to the demands of their season, sums up the failures of a window that former executive chairman Jeff Shi so naively labelled “good”.
While there is no option to buy included in the loan deal, there must now be serious question marks over whether he will ever play for Wolves again, given the club are almost certainly heading for the Championship.
Wolves will hope that regular game time back in Spain can help Lopez discover some form and confidence, either to help him relaunch his Molineux career, or to increase his transfer value ahead of a possible sale.
The other option might be a further loan next season in the hope that Wolves return to the Premier League at the first attempt and Lopez could potentially return with more experience.