Gary O'Neil has say on Nelson Semedo's Wolves future

The defender was sent off in the first half as Wolves fell to a 2-0 loss in the last game of the season.

After an impressive campaign, the 30-year-old has a year left on his deal and could depart in the summer to open space in the wage budget.

But the head coach insisted the club must agree a new contract with Semedo and keep him at Wolves for the foreseeable future.

“Nelson Semedo is massive to us, huge,” O’Neil said.

“I’m desperate for him to stay beyond a year and hopefully the club can get something sorted for him.

“He’s had a fantastic season and if we want to be really serious about keeping our best players and ones that represent me in the way they perform, Nelson is huge to us.

“Hopefully we can keep him for longer.”

When asked if Semedo wants to stay, O’Neil added: “I haven’t spoken to him, but I know he’s really happy here.

“He says it’s probably the best season he’s ever had, but you never know.

“If Real Madrid or Manchester City ring, he’s a footballer who wants to achieve and play at the highest level.

“But apart from anything crazy like that, I know he likes it here. He likes the group and likes working with the staff. He knows how much we appreciate what he does. I don’t think he would be against staying around.”

Meanwhile, O’Neil says the future of Wolves’ loan players will have a big say in the club’s summer business as he doubles down on the decision to send certain players on loan elsewhere.

“I’ve never been at a football club with so many players out on loan,” O’Neil said.

“I’m trying to figure out who’s coming back for pre-season, there’s loads of them.

“Recruitment in the last few years has been sometimes really successful and sometimes not, because a lot of the players we’ve signed in the past have ended up not being able to help us and are out playing for other teams.

“We need to tidy all of that up. It’s a really important part of pre-season for us – who’s coming back, who’s with us and who doesn’t want to be with us.

“Fine, no problem, we get the best price we can for them and we look to reinvest it.

“That part of the puzzle will be really important, the loan players coming back and which ones want to fully commit to playing for Wolves.

“It should mean something, and I know it does to the fans. For me, you have to earn the right to play for Wolves.

“Some people didn’t and that’s why some people aren’t here.

“Some people moved on and some people will question me about whether we could have kept them around and if it would have helped.

“No, it definitely wouldn’t have helped, we’re much better off without them.

“Some people were moved out for the better of the club, the team and the culture.

“Hopefully the supporters can trust my judgement in that. We only want people here who I can trust to do that in the second half (at Liverpool).

“Recruitment understand that it’s important to us now and we’ll definitely be signing the right type.”