Revealed: O’Rourke shares update on Lopetegui potentially quitting Wolves
There are still doubts over the future of Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui just days out from the start of the new season, sources have told Football Insider.
The Spaniard, 56, has been left disappointed and frustrated with the club’s summer transfer business and could now walk away from Molineux before the 2023-24 campaign gets underway.
It is believed Lopetegui’s frustrations stem from a lack of funds available to him despite seeing a number of top players leave the club.
Wolves have sold the likes of Ruben Neves, Nathan Collins and Raul Jimenez – but have only added free transfer signing Matt Doherty to last season’s squad.
Lopetegui feels the Midlands club are in for a tough season if he isn’t given the right tools to address the situation – but club chiefs are instead looking to sell more stars before next month’s deadline.
A well-placed source has told Football Insider that the former Real Madrid boss believes this isn’t the project he signed up for when he joined Wolves last November.
It is believed he was promised transfer backing by Fosun, the club’s Chinese owners.
Lopetegui signed a three-year contract when he arrived at Wolves, with that deal set to run until June 2025.
The Molineux club were sat bottom of the Premier League table when Lopetegui took charge, but he turned their fortunes around to achieve a 13th-place finish.
They became only the fourth side in the post-1992 era to survive relegation when bottom of the table on Christmas Day.
Wolves start their new campaign against Man United next Monday (14 August).
In other news, Championship club braced for striker offers as Wolves swoop.