WOLVES CONFIRM GARY O’NEIL APPOINTMENT AFTER JULEN LOPETEGUI DEPARTURE FIVE DAYS BEFORE MAN UNITED PREMIER LEAGUE OPENER
Wolves have acted swiftly to replace Julen Lopetegui following the appointment of former Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil. O’Neil does not have long to prepare for his first match in charge, which comes against Manchester United at Old Trafford next Monday. The ex-Cherries manager will be hoping to add some stability at the helm, with Lopetegui’s reign lasting less than nine months.
Wolves have confirmed the appointment of Gary O’Neil as the club’s new manager on a three-year deal.
O’Neil arrives at Molineux to replace Julen Lopetegui, whose contract was mutually terminated on Tuesday after less than nine months with the Black Country side.
The 40-year-old has just five days to prepare for his first match in charge, which comes at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Monday.
He was believed to be the preferred candidate to replace Lopetegui, after leading Bournemouth to a respectable 15th-place finish in the Premier League last season.
Despite that achievement, the Cherries hierarchy opted to part company with O’Neil and replaced him with former Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraola.
This is O’Neil’s second managerial appointment after his tenure with Bournemouth, where he initially took over on a caretaker basis before landing the job permanently last November.
His first coaching role was at Liverpool, where he became the Reds’ under-23 boss in 2020 ahead of his move to Dorset a year later.
Sporting director Matt Hobbs told the club website: “We’re delighted to welcome Gary to the club. He’s a highly motivated young coach with strong principles and very well thought of by everyone he has worked with, and we’re excited to see what we can achieve together at Wolves.
“Our players have shown their quality during pre-season, and I believe Gary and his team will continue to coach and improve them and will have success working with this group.
“Everyone at Wolves is looking forward to welcoming Gary, offering him their full support and working collaboratively to help the club to keep pushing forward together.”
O’Neil’s job will be to stabilise a squad affected by the high-profile departures of Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez and Nathan Collins to Al-Hilal, Fulham and Brentford respectively.
Matt Doherty has since returned to Molineux, while Matheus Cunha has arrived from Atletico Madrid to bolster his options at opposite ends of the pitch.
Aside from his coaching career, O’Neil also enjoyed a successful playing career having made 215 Premier League appearances for the likes of Portsmouth, West Ham and Queens Park Rangers.
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