Football Season Guide

After winning one and losing nine of his last 15 Premier League matches in charge, Bruno Lage was fired by Wolves. The team were 18th in the league and had scored just three goals by early October, when Julen Lopetegui took charge. The Spanish coach managed to help them bounce back and avoid relegation, but Wolves were extremely poor in attack, scoring the fewest goals of any Premier League side last year. Wolves haven’t been particularly active in the summer transfer window, but they are aware that they first needed to offload players and make space in a very crowded squad. Starting midfielders Ruben Neves and João Moutinho departed the club along with several backup attackers such as Adama Traore, Diego Costa and Raul Jimenez. Their only noteworthy signing for the time being is Matt Doherty, who provides Lopetegui with an extra option at right-back. Lopetegui decided to place his faith in the project and stayed put this summer in order to work on a talented squad. Wolves spent almost £200m in a season where they failed to impress and finished 13th in the league. They do need to strengthen their midfield after the departure of Neves and Moutinho, both of whom have been undisputed starters over the last few seasons. Wolves tend to boast a very solid backline in the last campaigns and Lopetegui could definitely improve their defence ahead of next season. Meanwhile, they have a great goalkeeper in Jose Sa, who secured 11 clean sheets in a turbulent season for Wolves. Meanwhile, their main weakness is their struggles in the final third. Wolves didn’t even average one goal per game last term despite Lopetegui boasting numerous forwards and trying several attacking tridents. Sasa Kalajdzic has returned from long-term injury and it remains to be seen if could be the ruthless striker they’ve been missing.