Julen Lopetegui comments left 'nasty taste' at Wolves

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·3 December 2023

Julen Lopetegui comments left 'nasty taste' at Wolves

Wolverhampton Wanderers' ex-manager Julen Lopetegui could have left a "nasty taste" in the mouth of the club following his departure from Molineux in August 2023.
Wolves chairman Jeff Shi and Lopetegui clashed on the club's spending during the 2023 summer transfer window, with the club unable to splash the cash due to the Premier League's rules on profit and sustainability.
Wanderers appointed head coach Gary O'Neil in the immediate aftermath of Lopetegui's departure.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ ex-manager Julen Lopetegui’s comments following his departure from the club could have left a “nasty taste in their mouth”, as Sunday People chief sports writer Neil Moxley considers the head coach’s decision to leave Molineux.

Wolves replaced the frustrated boss with Gary O’Neil who has overseen a decent start to the season for the club, who were widely tipped for relegation from the Premier League during the 2023/24 campaign.

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Lopetegui’s departure had been on the cards for several months after expressing his frustrations at Wanderers’ need to limit their spending to remain within the top-flight’s profit and sustainability rules. However, there will be disappointment at how the head coach left Wolves after a promising start to his career in the dugout at Molineux.

In November 2022, Wolves confirmed the appointment of Lopetegui, who replaced ex-head coach Bruno Lage. He was relieved of his duties following a 2-0 defeat at West Ham United the previous month. Due to the 2022 World Cup, the Spanish head coach would only take charge of his first Premier League game in charge on Boxing Day of that year, with Wanderers floundering at the bottom of the league.

A stoppage-time Rayan Ait-Nouri winner at Goodison Park would lift Wolves off the basement of the Premier League and start a string of results, ultimately seeing the club secure a 13th-placed finish.

Lopetegui was helped by spending £75m on six additions in the 2023 winter transfer window. Key arrivals included Atletico Madrid forward Matheus Cunha, who arrived on a season-long loan with a £43m obligation to buy in the summer, OGC Nice and Flamengo midfielders Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes, West Ham United centre-back Craig Dawson and Paris Saint-Germain wide man Pablo Sarabia.

However, what was meant to be the start of a promising tenure under Lopetegui would end in mutually terminating his contract just days before the club opened their 2023/24 Premier League campaign. The 57-year-old had reportedly lost trust in Wolves chairman Jeff Shi after claiming he was unaware of the club’s financial issues, which meant they would have to sell to buy during the 2023 summer transfer window. Out went players such as Ruben Neves, Nathan Collins and Raul Jimenez, with Northampton Town goalkeeper Tom King and free-agent Matt Doherty being the only arrivals at his time of departure.

In September, Lopetegui hinted to The Athletic that he had been disappointed by Wolves’ change in ambitions ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. Journalist Dean Jones has previously told GIVEMESPORT (13th September) that Wolves could live to regret allowing Lopetegui to leave after just over nine months in charge at Molineux.

Neil Moxley on Julen Lopetegui

Moxley has suggested that if Lopetegui “wasn’t getting the right noises,” he did the honourable thing by leaving Molineux for someone else to take charge. However, the former Real Madrid head coach’s comments may not have been taken in a complimentary sense by Wolves. Moxley told GIVEMESPORT:

“I just wonder because he sort of said the reason for him going was because they're not going to be ambitious enough; it did leave a little bit of a nasty taste in their mouth. If that's what he genuinely feels, and he wasn't getting the right noises from the owners about the funds that were going to be spent in the summer, then it's fair that he does the honourable thing and falls on his sword and walks out before the start of the season.”

Wolves transfer news

After generating £140m in summer sales, Wolves are set to avoid punishment from the Premier League. They are likely to be able to comply with the top-flight’s profit and sustainability regulations.

The sale of midfielder Matheus Nunes in a £53m deal was vital to keeping the club’s finances in order. It allowed Wanderers to sign Enso Gonzalez, Santiago Bueno, Tommy Doyle and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in the final hours of the 2023 summer transfer window. However, Wolves are expected to limit their spending during the January market to ensure they don’t breach regulations in the final six months of the period assessed.

According to Express & Star journalist Liam Keen, Wanderers are exploring a possible £2m deal to sign AZ Alkmaar wonderkid Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro. The 19-year-old goalkeeper is one of the continent’s hottest prospects between the sticks, and Wolves are keen to add him to their goalkeeping department. However, AZ are keen to get the shot-stopper to commit his future to the club, with his current contract expiring in the summer of 2026.