Wolves: Benik Afobe didn't want to play for us

Wolves' recruitment chief Kevin Thelwell claims Benik Afobe 'was no longer trying to play for us' and 'undermined' the club.

Afobe was sold to Bournemouth for £10m last month, after almost moving to Norwich in the summer.

But during the first half of the campaign, despite scoring 10 goals, he didn't reach the standards set last season after joining for £2m from Arsenal.

And Thelwell said of the striker's performances: "You could list our entire first team squad and see that they were trying.

"Benik was no longer trying to play for us and that was undermining everything we were trying to achieve."

Chief executive Jez Moxey said that had Afobe continued to give his all, Wolves wouldn't have needed to sell him.

He added: "We said publicly that Benik would not be sold at all this season.

"It was a statement of intent and the owner backed us completely.

"I wasn't speaking to the Wolves fans, I was speaking to Benik's family, Norwich and any other Premier League club who were trying to undermine our relationship with Benik.

"We wanted to underline his place in the Wolves team. The reality is that he didn't want to play for Wolves.

"We wanted him to maintain his commitment to us so he could help us reach our goals. He wanted to leave, his advisors, his agents, his family and Norwich did everything they could to get Benik out of the club. He's now (earning) four times his wage."