Why Wolves loaning out Oskar Buur would be a good move

According to the Express & Star, Wolves have given out-of-favour right-back Oskar Buur the green light to seek a loan move away from Molineux before the conclusion of the summer transfer window.

As per the report, the 22-year-old is keen to further his development with regular minutes away from Wolves amid interest from Championship clubs Middlesbrough and Brentford. Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp and Dutch club FC Volendam have also expressed an interest in signing Buur on loan before the deadline.

Profile

Oskar Buur rose through the youth ranks of Danish club Aarhus and made his professional debut for his boyhood club back in 2015 aged just 16. However, after making just 10 league appearances, he opted against renewing his contract and departed to join Brabrand IF in 2017.

The 22-year-old, though, never made a professional appearance for Brabrand and was snapped by up Wolves. Buur made his first-team debut against Bristol Rovers in an EFL Cup tie before going on to enjoy a goalscoring league debut as a substitute in a 2-2 draw against Hull City in the Championship. 

Buur spent the entirety of the 2018-19 campaign with the club’s reserve team before making his Premier League and Europa League debut for Wolves last term. The Dane has made just 6 first-team appearances for the Black County outfit in all competitions so far, registering a goal and an assist in the process.

Buur is way down the pecking order at Wolves

Oskar Buur never really stood a chance to establish himself in Wolves’ first-team over the past three seasons largely due to the stranglehold of Matt Doherty on the right wing-back role. 

The Dane would surely have sensed a glimmer of hope to get a fair crack of the whip following the long-serving Irishman’s departure to Tottenham earlier this summer before the arrival of Ki-Jana Hoever and Nelson Semedo once again shut the door on his route to the first-team. 

Plus, the fact that Nuno Santo utilised someone like Adama Traore in a defensive role in Wolves’ opening two fixtures in the Premier League this season, despite having a specialist option like Buur in the ranks, clearly indicates the manager’s lack of confidence in the Dane’s abilities. 

The 22-year-old boasts a really good record for Wolves’ U-23 side at the Premier League 2 level, having accumulated 2 goals and 6 assists in 45 appearances. However, it is clear from the manager’s decision to bring in two new players to replace Doherty that he doesn’t consider Buur ready to make the step up to the Premier League.

Hence, it’s pretty clear that the Dane currently finds himself way down the pecking order at Molineux, and at 22, it wouldn’t be the wisest idea for him to waste his time playing for the club’s U-23s. Also, it would hardly make sense for Wolves to pay him wages for doing next to nothing, and getting him off the books on a temporary basis should help them trim their wage bill.

Buur is very much at a stage in his career where he needs to play regularly at the senior level to realise his true potential. A loan move away from Wolves should, therefore, be in the best interests of all parties involved.

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Verdict

Oskar Buur has looked like a decent player in the limited opportunities he has been afforded at Wolves but constantly warming the benches and playing the odd cup game isn’t going to enhance his development. The Dane’s prospects of playing regular first-team football at Molineux this season look very slim, indeed.

The Championship is a very competitive league and a temporary stint in the second-tier could well prepare him for a genuine shot at the Premier League moving forward.