COMMENT: Wolves had to sell Afobe - but they must use this opportunity wisely

Wolves – and also Kenny Jackett in what was a well-scripted show of unity – chose their words carefully and plumped for 'reluctant' when describing their chief emotion at selling Benik Afobe to Bournemouth.

And yes, you can imagine they meant it, writes Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers.

After all, what club actively wants to sell their best player, a striker whose talent can rival any seen at Molineux for the past 30 years?

Wolves will indeed have been very reluctant. For one, they released an equally carefully worded statement precisely 143 days earlier, in which they (and by 'they' you can assume Jez Moxey, but to put 'club' is a cop-out) outlined in forthright terms that Benik Afobe, nor any other Wolves forward (essentially just the injured Nouha Dicko) would be sold this season.

With Norwich's interest in Afobe at its height, it was the hands-off to end all hands-offs.

Go away, he's not for sale, we don't sell out best players, we want to improve our squad and reach the Premier League, etc.

Jackett reiterated the same. And on September 9 the player himself broke his silence on the transfer saga by tweeting: "Tempting when a Prem team comes calling but I've got unfinished business at Wolves."

Yet by January 10, Afobe's 362nd and last day as a Wolves player, the club, in reality, had no choice but to sell him.

And not because of the main reason they trotted out on Saturday night, that Afobe had told them he wanted to play for a Premier League club.

For a start – what player doesn't? It's been an open secret that the 22-year-old wanted the chance to at least speak to Norwich last summer.

A chance to play in the biggest league in world football, earning at least triple what he was earning at Wolves, a club to which he had no specific ties or loyalties...why wouldn't he want to go?

And it's been the same situation in this transfer window. Which is exactly what Wolves and Jackett stated on Saturday.

To primarily give the reason for Afobe's departure as 'he wants to play in the Premier League' is to throw him under the bus. And to create a smokescreen.

He hasn't gone on strike, he hasn't said he won't play. Admittedly his body language hasn't been poor but he's still been scoring goals.

No, if Wolves had the inclination, and the financial means, they would be as strong-willed as they were in August, reject any bid that didn't approach silly money, tell Afobe that he was only purchased 12 months ago and under contract to play for Wolverhampton Wanderers, point out the play-offs are in reach this season and he could leave next summer if he still wished to do so.

Instead they have accepted, if figures are to be believed, exactly the same bid (£10m) they so firmly rejected four months ago.

And that is because, quite simply, they need the cash.

Last summer's bold directive to keep Afobe came from the very top.

Steve Morgan put his foot down and refused to entertain the idea of selling. With his departure the landscape has changed beyond recognition.

Yes, as owner, Morgan will continue to finance the club. No, he won't let Wolves 'do a Bolton' or anything even approaching that.

But he also won't, and as an outgoing owner you can't blame him whatsoever, pump millions into improving the playing squad.

So Wolves have to sell to buy.

And with Afobe, for a variety of reasons, not in his best form this season, the theory is that he won't be as big a loss as he would have been in the summer.

They also have to keep their books balanced. Parachute payments run out next season and if Wolves are still in the Championship they can expect season ticket numbers to decrease, perhaps on a bigger scale than seen in recent Championship-to-Championship summers.

With all that to consider, it makes perfect sense to sell from the position Wolves are in.

And now it's done, what they simply cannot do it waste this opportunity. That's how they must see it – an opportunity to rejuvenate the squad, bring in a number of attacking players with which an exciting, exhilarating attacking philosophy can be formed.

Bjorn Sigurdarson is the only senior, fit, permanent striker available on Wolves' books. And it didn't look like even he'd be around for much longer at around 4.05pm on Saturday when collapsing in a heap at Upton Park.

The Afobe cash must be used to bring in two strikers, adding to the Icelander and the on-loan Adam Le Fondre. Jackett also needs two defenders, one being an experienced centre half and the other a left back.

Will Jackett/Kevin Thewell be given every penny of the £10m? No, of course not. You can envisage than £2m, maybe a million or two more, will be put aside for housekeeping purposes.

But what is for certain is that the coming weeks represent a stern test of Wolves' new(ish) recruitment model, at what is a notoriously tough time of year to buy players.

The club's last transfer splurge was the £10m that Stale Solbakken spent on Sako, Sigurdarson, Doumbia and Boukari in 2012.

And with a few million to spend, it will be telling to see if Wolves go down the 'cheaper, young and hungry' route that has served them well until last summer (not least with Afobe, who was snared for just £2m), or bring in some established players with pedigree who are well versed in the rigours of the Championship, albeit with a few more miles on the clock and pricier wage demands.

Whichever route they take, they will be heavily scrutinised, coming so soon after the disaster that was finding Sako's replacement (Sheyi Ojo has been sent back to Liverpool and Jed Wallace has been sent out to Millwall – neither player was ready, and indeed Wallace was out of position).

In a Championship where Derby are spending £25m to try and buy promotion, and in a climate where fans are becoming increasingly frustrated and even apathetic as to the club's direction, Wolves have got to get this right.

Their fans have seen two-thirds of the most exciting attacking Molineux trio for years depart within the space of six months, and will worry that the likes of Jordan Graham, Dominic Iorfa and Kortney Hause, all courted by Premier League clubs, will be next.

Meanwhile their beloved club flounders in the middle of the Championship, rudderless with no chairman.

They will find more mediocrity very hard to stomach.