Wolves' stunning £60m first transfer window under Pereira predicted - including Sunderland and Chelsea deals

Wolverhampton Wanderers will head into the new year with a new manager at the wheel. Victor Pereira's eyes are set intently on the destination of 'Premier League survival' despite the looming threat of a relegation scrap tornado swirling ominously in the wing mirror reflection.

As things stand, they're well and truly embroiled in a dog fight down in the bowels of the Premier League table, frantically grappling with the likes of Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City to remain in English football's top tier for another season.

While the January transfer window is often a bit of a damp squib, the temptation to bring in a potentially season saving signing will be there as always for clubs looking to stave off the drop, and you'd expect Pereira might well be keen to bring in a new player or two to boost his side's chances of survival.

They’ve already been linked with a move for Liverpool midfield Wataru Endo, while star full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri could be a potential outgoing, with Manchester United tipped to make a swoop for the Algeria international.

Ahead of the window opening in the new year, we loaded up a fresh save of the utterly addictive Football Manager, and ran a simulation to see who Pereira would bring to Molineux in his first January in charge. Brace yourselves, it looks like FM has been on the Christmas sherry.

In: Jamaal Lascelles - Newcastle United - loan

A bit of an odd one to kick things off, but it really sets the tone for things to come. After Newcastle United snapped up Eric Garcia from Barcelona, they unceremoniously bundled club captain out the door on loan. Having only just recovered from a knee injury, Wolves saw fit to pay a hefty fee to bring the 31-year-old centre-back in on a temporary basis.

In: Felipe Caicedo - Free agent

A free agent striker who hasn't kicked a ball since playing for Saudi Pro League side Abha Club in the 2022/23 season? We hope you know what you're doing, Victor. Wolves made the baffling decision to sign the Man City and Lazio forward just a couple of days into the window.

In: Jamie Vardy - Leicester City - £1m

Extraordinary, quite extraordinary. Leicester City opted to part with their Red Bull swilling club legend for a mere one million British pounds. We can only assume the deal was all part of a hoax - a Ruse Van Nistelrooy, if you will. Come on, it's Christmas - by the Foxes, using the ex-England striker as an agent of chaos to bring Wolves down from the inside.

In: Chris Smalling - Al-Fayha - £3.5m

The ex-Man United defender came back to the Premier League for one last rodeo, after swiftly departing Al-Fayha having only joined them last summer.

In: Hayden Hackney - Middlesbrough - £20m

Having shook the footballing world with their penchant for ageing English footballers, Wolves finally made a sensible decision, bringing the highly-rated 22-year-old midfielder in late on in January. The deep-lying playmaker added invaluable further depth to the Wolves midfield, ahead of the relentless relegation battle fixture pile-up.

In: Sam Rak-Sakyi - Chelsea - free transfer

Now, this could prove to be quite the coup. The highly-rated Chelsea - notorious transfer window mavericks - youngster hit a stalemate in contract talks with the club, who opted to cut their ties allowing Wolves to swoop in to bag themselves a bargain. In the real world, he's made four appearances for Chelsea this season, all coming in the Europa Conference League.

In: Koen Casteels - Al-Qadsiah - £5m

As Deadline Day arrived, the press thought Wolves were done with their perplexing January business. But like Jack Torrance rampaging the through corridors of the Overlook Hotel, the winter madness had only just begun. Bursting through the Sir Jack Hayward training ground doors - mercifully without an axe - here's Koeny. Another player to flee the Saudi Pro League just months after arriving, the Belgian goalkeeper was a lovely bit of bargain business.

In: Dan Neil - Sunderland - £30m

That bright yellow transfer ticker on Sky Sports News went into overdrive, Fabrizio Romano unleashed 'Here we go' upon 'Here we go' and the overworked Molineux fax machine began to billow smoke. The highly-rated Sunderland midfielder had interest from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, but Pereira was able to sweet talk him into a stunning move to the West Midlands.

In: Hrvoje Smolcic - Eintracht Frankfurt - Loan

You'd have thought Wolves would have saved the Neil signing as the icing on their mind-boggling cake of transfer tomfoolery, but the obligatory 'Don't go to bed just yet' social media post accompanied by a cheeky pair of peeping eyes emoji signalled just one more bit of business.

Just who would be arriving before the clock struck midnight? A 24-year-old defender you've never heard of, naturally. Ending a loan spell with Austrian side LASK for no apparent reason other than Football Manager wanting to have a bit of a laugh, the Croatian defender passed medical just in the nick of time.

So there we have it - Wolverhampton Wanderers' baffling and indeed beguiling first transfer window under Pereira is complete. We're off for a lie down in a darkened room, in the hope the deeply distressing images of this Frankenstein's monster of a football side will soon be extinguished by the sanctuary of sleep.