Dave Edwards: Don’t panic! Plenty time to get Wolves deals done

Yes, we’d all like to see a flurry of top quality arrivals by the start of July but that is not how the transfer market works.

Wolves went into this one knowing the focus would initially be on outgoings and to that end they are making good progress, with Conor Coady and Nathan Collins following Ruben Neves out of the door, both for decent fees.

I think the manager and the board just want to get themselves into a position to know exactly what they can spend. The more they bring in, the better quality of signings we can expect down the line.

You don’t have to rush into signings. In an ideal world, every manager wants their squad to be ready for the start of the pre-season but in reality that is never going to happen. For one thing, there are still players who were on international duty away from the club.

We saw how well Julen Lopetegui worked when he first came to the club but I don’t think it will hurt not having everyone there right from day one. New players can adapt quickly.

Of course, you don’t want to leave it too long. You don’t really want to start the season still having three or four signings to make but we are still at the start of July. There is still lots of time.

In terms of the departures, I was a bit surprised Conor Coady was let go. I suppose an offer of potentially more than £8million was maybe too good to turn down but at the same time, with other defenders’ futures up in the air and knowing what Conor would bring to the team both on the pitch and from a leadership point of view, I think there was an argument for keeping him.

I’ve said it before but, with the exception of Steve Bull, I think Coady is probably the most important player to wear a Wolves shirt in the last 30 years. That’s because of what he has done for the club, the way he has led them through the resurgence. As a captain and a leader, he is everything you would want. He’s an absolute model professional, who always puts the club ahead of himself at every opportunity.

Wolves have lacked a little in terms of leaders in recent years and with Ruben Neves going as well, if it was down to me I’d have left the money on the table and kept Conor on board. Obviously, the manager has the vision of what he wants to achieve. If you get the outgoings done as soon as possible, it gives you a picture of what is possible in terms of bringing players in. They will know what they are working with, how things look with regard to Financial Fair Play and then go from there, rather than one in, one out and trying to balance it like that.

It’s fair to say Lopetegui wants to rejig the defence. Collins has now followed Coady and there is a lot of interest in Max Kilman from Napoli. It seems Wolves would be open to selling Kilman at the right price and if they were to get an offer somewhere between £35-40m that would be difficult to turn down.

It would be a shame. Max has grown considerably as a player at Wolves. He’s a talented English defender and for all the excellent players from abroad Wolves have signed in recent years, I still think you need a British core to the dressing room to help with the identity of the club.