Wolves appoint Julen Lopetegui as new head coach

Wolves have announced the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as the club’s new head coach.

Former Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla boss Lopetegui will take charge on November 14, subject to being granted work permits, with Steve Davis remaining in interim charge ahead of Saturday’s home match against Brighton.

Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said on the club’s website: “Julen is a top coach, with excellent experience at an elite level of the game, and we are very pleased to have agreed a deal to bring him to Wolves.

“Since the very beginning, Julen has been our number one choice to manage Wolves, and we look forward to welcoming him and his team when they join us in the coming weeks.”

Wolves confirmed, if all the necessary paperwork is completed, Lopetegui will take over at Molineux following the game against Arsenal, which is the last ahead of the World Cup break.

Lopetegui had originally been close to moving to Molineux in 2016 before he became Spain manager, a job from which he was sacked on the eve of the 2018 World Cup after it was announced he would be taking over at Real Madrid after the tournament.

Wolves again turned to Lopetegui as they sought a replacement for Bruno Lage, was sacked at the start of last month. However the 56-year-old Spaniard had initially turned down a move to Molineux due to his father being ill.

After seeing QPR’s Michael Beale opt to stay at Loftus Road, Wolves renewed talks and were confident of brokering a deal with Lopetegui, who left Sevilla at the start of October.

Davis, Wolves’ under-18s coach, took temporary charge of the first team after Lage’s departure, being assisted by James Collins and goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts.

Wolves remain in the bottom three after winning only one game since Lage left, against Nottingham Forest, with their only other point under Davis coming in last week’s 1-1 draw at Brentford.