Before the January transfer window opened, Rob Edwards outlined his desire to “freshen up” his Wolverhampton Wanderers squad.
Eventually, in the final few hours of business, Wolves delivered on their head coach’s ambitions.
Edwards might have liked a couple more new faces and, given that their relegation fate is effectively already sealed, Wolves’ owners might have wanted to cash in on another of their high-value players while the market was in their favour.
But overall, with Jorgen Strand Larsen sold, some fringe players loaned out and a couple of new faces through the door, it ends as a window with which all parties can potentially be content, albeit it was never going to change the course of a dismal campaign.
The information found within this article has been gathered according to The Athletic’s sourcing guidelines. Sources with knowledge of transfer dealings, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships, have been spoken to before offering the clubs involved the opportunity to comment.
Was this window a success or a failure?
The accurate answer to that question will probably not be known until midway through next season, when Wolves hope the seeds sown this month will have begun to bear fruit.
While the club cannot publicly admit defeat in this season’s Premier League campaign, this window was clearly about laying the groundwork for a summer rebuild, so bringing in a big fee for Strand Larsen and signing a striker with proven Championship pedigree in Adam Armstrong appears sensible business.
But only time will tell.
Adam Armstrong has joined from Southampton with the Championship in mind (Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
How much did they spend and how much did they bring in?
They spent £8million, with £7m ($9.6m) on Armstrong and a £1m loan fee to bring in Angel Gomes from Marseille. That overall figure could rise to £16m if the £2m of add-ons on Armstrong are realised and if they activate the £6m option to sign Gomes permanently.
But both figures are dwarfed by the £48m they could receive from Crystal Palace for Strand Larsen.
The initial income from that deal is £43m which, when added to the small loan fee received from Celta Vigo for Fer Lopez, will take the guaranteed incomings from the window to around £45m.
Who have they signed?
Just Armstrong and Gomes.
Angel Gomes playing for Marseille against FC Bayeux (Lou Benoist/AFP via Getty Images)
Were there any deals they wanted to do that they didn’t get over the line?
They explored the possibility of signing Che Adams and reuniting him with former Southampton strike partner Armstrong, but Torino were never minded to sell the Scotland forward in this window.
Adams is a long-standing Wolves target and they might well revisit that deal again in the summer.
Are there still any obvious gaps in the team?
In terms of quality, there are still question marks pretty much everywhere — but when it comes to numbers, there are no longer any obvious weak areas of the squad.
There appeared to be a lack of options in central midfield but the signing of Gomes and the emergence of Mateus Mane have alleviated that.
Do they have the squad to achieve their goals for the season?
Wolves have no chance of staying in the Premier League, so their goals were beyond them before the window even began.
But in terms of adding a little respectability to a miserable campaign, they have shown in recent weeks that they can now be competitive under Rob Edwards and the players who have left — Strand Larsen, Marshall Munetsi, Fer Lopez and Tawanda Chirewa — were fringe figures during their run of improved performances.
Fer Lopez was on the fringes at Wolves (Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)
Will the manager be happy?
Edwards would probably have loved a few more new faces, but attracting them to a club already doomed to relegation was tricky.
He asked for his squad to be given some added freshness, and belatedly Wolves have gone some way to responding.
What will their priority be in the summer?
A huge rebuild is anticipated at the end of the season, with many of the current first-team players expected to leave in the wake of the inevitable relegation.
So it is impossible to identify one priority position, but Edwards will definitely target Championship experience and leadership qualities.
Will they have money to spend?
Fosun are unlikely to inject significant new funds, but there are still a host of players who could command big fees, which should help with the transfer budget.
They should have clout in the Championship market without being able to throw money at a promotion bid.
Andre and Joao Gomes will have suitors in the summer (Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)
What is their strongest XI now the window is shut?
Angel Gomes comes into contention for one of the strongest areas in the Wolves team, with Brazil internationals Joao Gomes and Andre still at the club for the time being, so the England international will probably start on the bench, at least to begin with.
Armstrong will hope to push Hwang Hee-chan for the right to partner Tolu Arokodare in attack, but the Korean has done well enough in recent weeks to keep his place for now — albeit the home defeat to Bournemouth was a poor afternoon for him.
Wolves (3-5-2): Jose Sa; Yerson Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Ladislav Krejci; Rodrigo Gomes, Joao Gomes, Andre, Mateus Mane, Hugo Bueno; Tolu Arokodare, Hwang Hee-chan.
The full list of ins and outs
IN
Angel Gomes (loan), Marseille
Adam Armstrong (£7m), Southampton
OUT
Jorgen Strand Larsen (£43m), Crystal Palace
Marshall Munetsi (loan), Paris FC
Fer Lopez (loan), Celta Vigo
Tawanda Chirewa (loan), Barnsley