Wolverhampton Wanderers are gearing up for a big 2020. They currently sit sixth in the Premier League, are in the Europa League knockout stages and could quite easily go on a run in the FA Cup.

Under Nuno Santo, the west Midlanders have enjoyed a monumental turnaround in fortune, which has led to plenty of claims that they could compete for Champions League football.

First, it was Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, who talked up the side following their bitter victory a couple of weeks ago. He said: “My feeling is that they are with us, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal – fighting for top six and smelling the top four.”

There aren’t many better candidates out there to suggest such things considering that Mourinho managed Nuno as a player.

Following the weekend’s victory over Norwich City, striker Raul Jimenez echoed such sentiments with a similar remark. He claimed:“We are there, we are close, we are fighting [for a top-four place]. It is special for us, to continue fighting for that place. Because of what we did last season, we want more. We knew that we put a very high line for us this season.”

Wolves aren’t far off. Only the league-leading Liverpool have lost fewer games this season. They have even defeated reigning champions Manchester City at the Etihad.

An 11-game unbeaten run was ended at the hands of Spurs but over the last ten games alone, Nuno’s side have kept just one clean sheet, at home to a struggling West Ham outfit.

Therefore, it isn’t unfair to suggest that they have struggled defensively in the absence of Willy Boly. Then again, the back three has been filled with central midfielders as the Portuguese boss clearly doesn’t trust the likes of Jesus Vallejo, Max Kilman and Ryan Bennett – the latter has suffered injury problems for several months now.

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If Wolves are to break into the top four this season, or even next, they need a top-class central defender. Boly will be back in the early stages of the year but that right centre-back role will still be a free-for-all.

A player in the calibre of Ruben Dias, the Benfica star they were linked with all summer, is the exactly the type defender they require – young with serious ball-playing ability, as seen with his 89.8% passing accuracy in the league, and elite-level experience such as the Champions League.

And in other news, might this audacious signing be a potential Adama Traore replacement at Molineux?