Wolverhampton Wanderers came down from the Premier League and have a squad that should be challenging for promotion straight away – albeit it is a squad that does not consist of Adrian Blake, of whom they were linked with in the summer.

Following their relegation down to the Championship, Wolves took what was a surprising decision to part company with manager Rob Edwards and to replace him with former Gil Vicente boss Cesar Peixoto.

The Portuguese coach has endured a mixed time of it at Molineux thus far but seven points collected from their last three matches has lifted Wolves into fourth place in the second-tier and just four points off league leaders Middlesbrough.

Wolves’ performances have remained fairly lacklustre and a bit underwhelming, as was even the case in a 1-0 defeat of struggling Watford at the weekend, and finding a consistent formula to improve performances and find more consistency in terms of results will be key.

That may involve a bit of movement in the January transfer window after one man they seemingly missed out on in the summer was Adrian Blake.

Adrian Blake would not necessarily improve the Wolves squad

Having brought back Mexico international striker Raul Jimenez to the club as well as Newcastle United loanee Sean Neave, and also still having Adam Armstrong on the books, the striking department appears well stocked for Wolves.

Out-wide they also brought in Rafiki Said with their wingers consisting of the exciting but slightly faded Mateus Mane, as well as Bertrand Traore, Rodrigo Gomes, Tawanda Chirewa and Enso Gonzalez with the versatile Fer Lopez in attacking midfield.

For those reasons, FLW’s Wolves Fan Pundit Thomas Woodhall does not believe the club missed out with failing to bring in Celtic and Burnley-linked Adrian Blake, but does acknowledge the mis-firing FC Utrecht attacker could well still improve and that may prompt a bit of regret.

Thomas says: “I don’t necessarily think that we miss out.

“I think that the options we have, in in terms of general experience, are a bit better.

“I think (Rafiki) Said has finally come in and he’s getting minutes, and he looks quite lively. A few more games hopefully and he’ll be getting on the scoresheet.

“It wasn’t a dodged bullet as he is still young and could come good but I am on the fence with it completely.”

Adrian Blake has not kicked on at FC Utrecht this season

Over the summer, former England youth international Adrian Blake was linked with a move to the likes of Celtic, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported fee of around £2.5 million.

Islington-born Blake come through the academy at Watford and did make a few first-team appearances for The Hornets in the 2022-23 campaign before departing for the Netherlands in the summer of 2023.

Blake joined FC Utrecht of the Eredivisie and initially became a key part of their reserve side, Jong Utrecht, in the Eerste Divisie before moving himself into a more prominent first-team role in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign.

In 23 Eredivisie appearances last season for Utrecht, Blake notched a couple of goals as well as scoring twice in 13 UEFA Europa League appearances as they reached the league phase of that competition.

Over the summer, Utrecht saw manager Ron Jans depart after a sixth place finish, replaced by former Telstar boss Anthony Correia, as well as some key players such as Miguel Rodriguez, Can Bozdogan, Sebastian Haller and Mike van der Hoorn with key loanees Jesper Karlsson and Gjivai Zechiel also departing.

One man that stayed put was Blake and he was expected to kick on this time around but he has remained a fairly frustrating player for the Dutch outfit as they sit in the bottom half of the Eredivisie.

Blake has matched his goal scoring tally in just ten appearances in the league thus far and he has provided a couple of assists, too, but he has remained a largely peripheral figure with just two starts thus far.

It could well be that the 21-year-old eventually breaks back into the first eleven at Stadion Galgenwaard but, until then, it would have to be recognised that a move to Wolves may well have been too early for him just yet regardless.