07 August 2023 , 18:21
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Wolves have held talks with Gary O’Neil about replacing Julen Lopetegui - if the Spaniard elects to quit.
Lopetegui’s future remains in question, less than a week before the start of the Premier League season, following a tumultuous summer in the West Midlands. Wolves continue to insist that speculation around Lopetegui’s future is precisely that and that he has given no indication at all that he will walk away.
But Mirror Football understands that the club’s top brass are making contingency plans and held informal talks lasting three hours with former Bournemouth boss O’Neil at the back end of last week - something club sources did not deny.
It comes after Mirror Football revealed last week that potential replacements for Lopetegui had been sounded out and O'Neil is now in prime position to replace Lopetegui should the 56-year-old quit.
Lopetegui, who led the club from the bottom of the table on Christmas Day last season to mid-table safety after a remarkable turnaround in the second half of the season, had been looking to revamp his squad, knowing that the likes of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho would be departing.
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But despite Wolves bringing in over £85million in transfer fees, the only new faces are free transfers: the returning Matt Doherty and third-choice goalkeeper Tom King.
The 56-year-old had made Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott his top target, and Wanderers made two bids for the 19-year-old - the second of which totalled just over £20million. Lopetegui felt a deal would be done.
But he was then told that interest had to be shelved for the time being after the club’s hierarchy insisted they couldn’t afford to meet the Robins’ £25million price tag... with a number of other deals also put on hold.
Julen Lopetegui is considering his future at Wolves (Getty Images)The former Sevilla, Spain and Real Madrid head coach has been outspoken on what he sees as the club’s failure to improve their squad.
Since May, he has twice pointed to the goalposts being moved when it comes to new arrivals. “We went to a plan B, trying to think about cost-effective players, but we can’t develop this plan, too,” said Lopetegui last month. “We lost a lot of players and we think the club want to sell more players.”
All has not been well behind the scenes at Molineux, leading chairman Jeff Shi to send an open letter to supporters last week. Shi cited “a significantly increasing wage bill and player acquisition costs” in recent transfer windows as being behind the club’s current situation.
Gary O'Neil was sacked by Bournemouth but is looking to return as a head coach (Tom Dulat/Getty Images)O’Neil was thrown in at the deep end as Bournemouth boss last August, replacing Scott Parker as caretaker boss after his sacking following a 9-0 defeat at Liverpool.
He took 13 points from 11 games before being named permanent boss on an 18-month deal in November, and led the Cherries to safety on their top flight return, finishing 15th, five points clear of safety.
But the 40-year-old was unceremoniously dumped by the club’s owners at the start of the summer, with Andoni Iraola - ironically, like Lopetegui, from Spain's Basque region - taking charge.
Wolves, who beat Rennes 3-1 in their final pre-season match on Saturday, begin their season against Manchester United next Monday night.
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