Journalist Liam Keen has slammed Wolves star Daniel Podence for his recent performance levels.
How has Podence performed for Wolves?
The Portuguese winger has had an inconsistent campaign, scoring five times in all competitions whilst Wolves have had a mixed season.
The 27-year-old has not scored or assisted in the league since January, and has started on the bench at times with his performances not justifying a place in the first XI.
Keen has criticised the £60k-per-week attacker on the Express and Star Podcast, claiming that he is not doing enough to earn himself a place in the team.
He said: "I can't see a world where Podence is going to start there again. The problem is he was coming off the bench and not starting, and performing badly there as well, hence why he was left out of the squad in the first place. It was a bit of a message to buck his ideas up and hasn't done it.
"He's had moments in these last couple of games, don't get me wrong, but nowhere near enough.
"He's been more involved than Neto, because Neto has also not done anywhere near enough, but you can't excuse the fact that Podence is giving the ball away too much, hasn't got into the right positions, hasn't been dangerous enough and doesn't carry the ball with enough intensity when he has it. He needs to do a lot better."
Should Wolves sell Podence in the summer?
With his contract expiring in 2024, and his current performance levels hardly justifying a new deal, this summer could be the ideal time for Wolves to part ways with Podence if he fails to impress towards the end of the campaign.
If Wolves stay in the Premier League, it could be argued that they will be able to keep most of their other attacking players, and the likes of Pablo Sarabia and Pedro Neto can keep their places at the club.
Podence joined for around £16.9m in 2020, and whilst it feels unlikely that they will recoup that kind of fee in the summer window, they could sell him on whilst he has some value rather than losing him on a free transfer.
Lopetegui has already recruited Sarabia and Matheus Cunha as attackers in his sole transfer window at Molineux, and the Spaniard may wish to bring in more players as he makes his imprint on this Wolves side, so Podence could be one of the first players sacrificed to make room for new arrivals given his poor contributions right now.