Wolves are keen to re-sign Matt Doherty this summer if they can agree a cut-price deal for the defender with Tottenham, according to Football Insider.
Doherty spent seven-and-a-half years at Molineux before joining Spurs for £15m in August, but he has failed to impress in North London.
Price-tag and salary:
Despite enduring a disappointing campaign, Doherty is still valued at £16.2m, according to Transfermarkt.
The 29-year-old is believed to be earning £65,385-a-week, and has over three years remaining on his contract.
Statistics:
Doherty has only featured in 15 of Tottenham's 28 league matches this season, having failed to consistently convince Jose Mourinho that he should be the team's first-choice right-back.
At Wolves, Doherty was an attacking threat as well, registering 19 goal contributions in his two top-flight campaigns.
Those numbers have dropped this term, though, as he has only provided two assists in the Premier League.
His defensive statistics don't make for particularly pretty reading either. The Irish full-back has averaged 1.5 successful tackles per league game, whilst fellow right-back Serge Aurier has almost double this number up at 2.8 per match.
Expert opinion:
Speaking to Football Insider earlier this month, former Leeds midfielder Noel Whelan conceded that Doherty has struggled this season, putting his poor form down to not acclimatising to life in London.
He said: “He’s somebody that doesn’t seem have settled easily into life in London or at Tottenham. It is worrying because they haven’t got an abundance of right-backs there.
“You really need that wing-back to be everything because that is what’s so important to their side right now.
“It’s not only defending but getting forward, overlaps getting into good areas, showing that quality.
“When you’ve got one player not doing it on one side, it weakens you.”
Verdict:
Wolves' reported interest in Doherty offers Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy the chance to rectify a transfer deal that has gone horribly wrong for the North London club.
A few years ago, Spurs had Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier as their right-back options. Now they are left with Doherty and Aurier, with neither looking like a long-term solution in that position.
Doherty looks to be some way short of the quality that Tottenham require if they are to get back into the top four.
He has really struggled to adapt to a new team and a manager that rarely utilises the wing-back role he was so successful in at Molineux.
The best thing Levy can do at this point is try to make amends by recouping as much of Spurs' original investment as possible upon sending Doherty back to the Midlands.