Wolves Have An “Outstanding” Gem Out On Loan Who’s Outscored Pedro Lomba Neto In 23/24
Gary O’Neil should be keeping a watchful eye on one of Wolves’ developing stars in the Championship…
As Gary O’Neil continues to figure out how to utilise the talent on show at Wolverhampton Wanderers, there is plenty of movement going on outside of the club that could benefit the manager in the future.
The Midlands club know all too well the benefits of allowing a fringe player to progress on loan, with the development of academy graduate Morgan Gibbs-White’s career prevailing to be a highly profitable leap.
In the summer of 2021, Bruno Lage made the conscious decision to allow the Englishman to depart on a season-long loan in the Championship with Sheffield United, a spell that the midfielder grasped with both hands.
22 direct goal involvements later, and the 23-year-old returned to Molineux with rave reviews, paving the way for his sale to Nottingham Forest later in the summer, earning the Old Gold a profit of £42.5m for their academy star.
Now, Wolves could be set to be in good stead to see another one of their academy hopefuls progress through the ranks at senior level, as Luke Cundle continues to make a statement in the Championship with Plymouth Argyle.
Luke Cundle’s career so far
Arriving at Molineux back in 2014 from Burnley’s youth system, Cundle has journeyed through the ranks within the Midlands club’s academy to find himself at 21-years-old with valuable experience at senior level.
Deployed in central midfield, the academy graduate is a name many already know on the scene in Wolverhampton, due to his success with both the U18’s and U21’s, as well as his opportunities with the first team as a teen.
At U18 level, the midfielder secured a total of 42 appearances in all competitions, in which he netted five goals and recorded three assists, with improvements shown with the U21’s as he scored nine and assisted 14 in 53 appearances.
In February 2022, the 19-year-old was handed his full Premier League debut by Lage, playing 84 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur during the Old Gold’s 2-0 win in north London.
After the game, Lage praised the teen as being “comfortable” at playing in such a highly-contested affair, which was a fair comment as he maintained a passing accuracy rate of 96% in central midfield.
If there’s one thing that the Warrington-born gem didn’t do on his debut, it was shy away, as he recorded one key pass and created one big chance to showcase his playmaking ability against Antonio Conte’s side.
Cundle has made a total of seven senior appearances for the Old Gold so far, however the majority of his development has taken place away from the Midlands.
In the summer of 2022, the decision was made for the Wolves graduate to grow as a player away from the comforts of the academy, as he signed a season-long loan deal with Swansea City in the Championship.
During his time with the Swans, former manager Russell Martin waxed lyrical over his loanee, praising his “willingness to work” and dubbing him “a player to be excited about” for his “technically gifted and intelligent” ways on the pitch.
In 34 appearances in South Wales, Cundle contributed to seven goals, scoring three and assisting four, however his displays went far beyond his efforts in the final third.
In the 2022/23 Championship, the 21-year-old averaged one key pass per game, as well as a passing accuracy of 89% to showcase how comfortable he is on the ball in an area as critical as the midfield.
The praise from Martin was mirrored from past comments during the youngster’s time in Wolves’ academy, where U21’s head coach, James Collins, gushed over his midfielder’s ability.
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