Promoted to the Premier League in 2018, Wolverhampton has been experiencing a steady decline. After finishing seventh in 2019 and 2020, the club wrapped up last season in sixteenth place. It was a challenging season, with Wolverhampton battling relegation and not securing their first win until the eleventh matchday. However, a busy winter transfer window and the appointment of Vitor Pereira to replace Gary O’Neil improved the situation. The Wolves regained some strength with new signings, including Emmanuel Agbadou, Marshall Munetsi, and Nasser Djiga, but the club’s leadership should have heeded the warnings before it was too late.
This summer, Wolverhampton took a proactive approach in the transfer market. Boosted by sales of Matheus Cunha to Manchester United, Rayan Aït-Nouri to Manchester City, and Fabio Silva to Borussia Dortmund, the Wolves invested €140 million to strengthen their squad. Seven new players joined, including Jørgen Strand Larsen, Tolu Arokadore, Fer Lopez, Ladislav Krejci, Jhon Arias, Jackson Tchatchoua, and David Møller Wolfe. Despite their opportunities, these signings have struggled to make an impact; aside from Fer Lopez, who has made only five appearances, the rest are either potential starters or frequently used substitutes.
Only 2 Points in 14 Matches
The team’s struggles are epitomized by Jørgen Strand Larsen, who arrived this summer for €27 million after scoring 14 goals in the Premier League last season but has only netted once so far. Newcastle was willing to pay €70 million for him at the end of the transfer window, highlighting his disappointing form. Fellow striker Hee-chan Hwang has also been underwhelming, managing just one goal in 13 matches. The losses of Cunha and Aït-Nouri have hurt the team significantly, and no one has stepped up to fill the void. Consequently, Wolverhampton finds itself at the bottom of the Premier League table after 14 matches, with just 2 points from draws against Tottenham and Brighton. They sit 12 points behind Leeds United, the first team outside the relegation zone, plunging them deeper into trouble.
To worsen matters, the upcoming schedule presents daunting challenges, including a home match against Manchester United on Monday, an away game at Arsenal on December 13, hosting Brentford on December 20, and tough encounters with Liverpool (December 27) and Manchester United again (December 30) to close out the year. The situation appears chaotic, compounded by Vitor Pereira’s replacement with Rob Edwards, which has had little effect. Edwards has acknowledged the frustration of the supporters, stating after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, “I understand. I don’t know when they last saw the team win, so I get it. I would be really angry if I were one of our supporters. I don’t take it personally; they have supported me a lot, but I would be angry if I were a Wolves fan right now because they want to see the team win. Our fans are very demanding. They expect effort, passion, competitiveness, determination, tenacity, and ambition, but we showed none of that tonight.” An industrial catastrophe, Wolverhampton’s troubles appear far from over.
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