Former Arsenal player Paul Merson fears for Wolverhampton Wanderers after Julen Lopetegui’s exit and their lack of transfer activity this summer.
Wolverhampton confirmed on Tuesday that Lopetegui had left the club by mutual consent, while the West Midlands outfit have not been too busy in the market.
Merson now thinks Wolves could get relegated. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “This is the way I see it with Wolves. They’re getting rid of all these players and not bringing anyone in, and my only thinking is are they sitting there and going, ‘Well, we could be better than Luton and better than Sheffield United’? But it’s a dangerous game.”
When asked if he believes they will stay up, Merson went on to add: “No. Looking at the picture, I don’t.”
Terrible summer for Wolves
This is the sort of summer Wolves supporters will quickly want to forget. Not only have they lost Lopetegui, who is a very good coach, but they have also sold quite a few of their key players.
Ruben Neves and Raul Jimenez have been bought by Al-Hilal and Fulham respectively, while Joao Moutinho has left Molineux on a free transfer.
It is going to be difficult to replace a manager of Lopetegui’s calibre and almost impossible to find successors to the likes of Neves and Moutinho, especially on the budget the Premier League club are currently working with.
With all of that in mind, then, Wolves could easily be relegated this season. They still have time to make the correct managerial appointment, though, and bring in a couple of quality additions.
If they do not do that, it is going to be a very long year for the Molineux faithful.
It is a real shame, as it looked like Wolves were making progress under Lopetegui, who took the club out of the relegation zone after succeeding Bruno Lage last term.
