Wolves have appointed former Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement.
Lopetegui left the club on Tuesday following a nine-month spell in which he kept Wolves in the Premier League after taking over with the team bottom last Christmas.
The former Real Madrid and Spain manager had criticised the club’s lack of spending during this summer’s window and cut a frustrated figure over the last few weeks.
O’Neil has been out of work since being sacked by Bournemouth in June but has been linked with a host of jobs over the summer.
He kept the Cherries in the Premier League, racking up 39 points and finishing 15th. Despite that achievement, he did not keep hold of his job, with former Rayo Vallecano manager Andoni Iraola becoming Bournemouth’s new head coach.
The Wolves hierarchy believe O’Neil could do a similar job with little funds and be a much-needed morale boost for the club.
The big names to have left Wolves this summer
Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “We’re delighted to welcome Gary to the club. He’s a highly motivated young coach with strong principles and very well thought of by everyone he has worked with, and we’re excited to see what we can achieve together at Wolves.
“Our players have shown their quality during pre-season, and I believe Gary and his team will continue to coach and improve them and will have success working with this group.
“Everyone at Wolves is looking forward to welcoming Gary, offering him their full support and working collaboratively to help the club to keep pushing forward together.”
Wolves have only signed three players this summer
Wolves have seen a number of the club’s best players leave this summer.
Wolves begin the Premier League season away at Manchester United, live on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
Monday 14th August 6:30pm
Kick off 8:00pm
Merson: Wolves playing a dangerous game – I can’t see them surviving
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Charlotte Duncker from The Times and Jason Burt from The Telegraph believe Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui’s exit just three days before the start of the PL season is ’embarrassing’
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson:
“A lot of the owners in the bottom half of the Premier League table are taking a chance. They’re looking at Luton and Sheffield United coming up and thinking: “We’re going to be better than them, if we’re better than one more team, why do we have to spend £100m wage and give £100,000-a-week wages.”
“That’s the problem with Wolves, they’re getting rid of all these players and not getting anyone in. My only thinking is they’re saying: ‘we need to be better than Luton and Sheffield United’. And it’s a dangerous game.
“Looking at the current picture, I don’t think Wolves stay up. Gary O’Neil will do a good job. They need the advantage of someone managing in the Premier League as good as yesterday. So he will come in and know the teams.
“You wouldn’t want to bring someone in from abroad who would just have to get used to it. Gary will know all those players, he won’t have worked with them but he played against them.”
Wolves start PL season at Man Utd on MNF – live on Sky
Wolves will start their 2023/24 Premier League campaign away at Manchester United on Monday August 14, live on Monday Night Football at 8pm.
They then host Brighton at Molineux on August 19 before two away games against Everton (August 26) and Crystal Palace (September 2).
Wolves host treble-winners Manchester City on September 30 and Aston Villa in the first Black Country derby of the season the weekend after on October 7. The reverse fixture against Villa is March 30.
The first game against Nottingham Forest is on December 9 at Molineux and the reverse fixture at the City Ground takes place on April 13.
Wolves face a tough end to the season with a home game against Arsenal on April 20, and away trips to Manchester City (May 4) and Liverpool on the final day on May 19.
Wolves’ transfer ins and outs
In
Boubacar Traore – Metz, £9.5m
Matt Doherty – Atletico Madrid, free
Tom King – Northampton, free
Out
Ryan Giles – Luton, undisclosed
Luke Cundle – Plymouth, loan
Conor Coady – Leicester, £7.5m
Nathan Collins – Brentford, £23m
Hayao Kawabe – Standard Liege, undisclosed
Dion Sanderson – Birmingham, undisclosed
Jackson Smith – Walsall, undisclosed
Diego Costa – Released
Luke Matheson – Released
Joao Moutinho – Released
Taylor Perry – Released
Michael Agboola – Released
Lee Harkin – Released
Jack Hodnett – Released
Jack Scott – Released
Theo Corbeanu – Grasshoppers, loan
Ki-Jana Hoever – Stoke, loan
Chiquinho – Stoke, loan
Nigel Lonwijk – Grasshoppers, loan
Louis Moulden – Rochdale, loan
Tyler Roberts – Doncaster, loan
Dexter Lembikisa – Rotherham, loan
Ollie Tipton – Notts County, loan
Matija Sarkic – Millwall, undisclosed