Last season Wolverhampton Wanderers were one of the feel-good stories of the Premier League. Newly promoted Wolves finished 7th in the table, the top-performing team outside of the modern big six clubs. A qualifier for the Europa League began their season with a routine second-round qualifying win over Northern Ireland’s Crusaders F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2019/20 Season Preview
Last Year
During the 2018-19 season, the winning formula for Wolves was a strong injection of international talent including Mexican international Raul Jimenez (17 goals during the season), and Portuguese International Joao Moutinho, a veteran talent who was voted the fans player of the season.
Wolverhampton returns the same core from last season’s successful campaign under the accomplished leadership of Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo, a manager who brought his experience at the top level of football with Valencia and Porto to the Premier League and instantly produced results, with the underdog club beating traditional powerhouses Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Arsenal in matchups during the last Premier League season. Santo has also been a key reason that Portuguese internationals like Ruben Neves have been attracted to Wolves.
Wolves Face the Weight of New Expectations
The biggest challenge for Wolves in the 19/20 season will be playing under the pressure of expectation. Last season they were playing with house money, but now they must keep or improve their place in the league. They must also attempt to make a run in the Europa League where they appear good enough to advance out of the group stages if they qualify.
They may find their squad stretched and lacking depth under the weight of new expectations, something that was mentioned during their pre-season run in the Premier League Asia Trophy tournament, where they beat Newcastle United and Manchester City.
Thus far their only significant new signing is AC Milan attacker Patrick Cutrone, a talented 21-year-old that was already playing first-team football for the Italian giants in Serie A.
Cutrone will be expected to produce goals that will help reduce the pressure on Jimenez, who completed his move from Benfica this summer. Belgian international defender Leander Dendoncker also completed his transfer from Anderlecht.
Last season only Jimenez and Portuguese talent Diogo Jota (22), scored more than ten goals across all competitions for Wolves. The weakness for this side last season was a lack of prolific scoring, netting four or more goals just once last season. This is something they will work to improve upon.
More Reinforcements Incoming?
Transfer business doesn’t look entirely done for Wolves this window, the club has been linked to veteran Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira, this would be their third major piece of business this window, as they strengthened the defence with the loan acquisition of young Real Madrid defender Jesus Vallejo.
Vallejo will provide further strengthening of a solid backline that includes defender Conor Coady, who played every minute of the Premier League season for his side. Other than the loan of Helder Costa to Leeds, the normal first-team side hasn’t lost anyone significant. This means they will have plenty of EPL experience in their starting XI.
Wolves will be looking for at least one midfield signing before the end of the window. Cutrone and Vallejo, meanwhile, will need some time to adjust to the Premier League.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Prediction for the 2019/20 Campaign
With a great mix of experience and developing talent, Wolves will have every chance to break the big six chokehold on the Premier League. There may be one problem, however. Their Europa League campaign will likely impact their ability to compete in the Premier League. This is because squad depth remains a challenge for Wolves.
Most of the sides that finished below Wolves last season do not appear to have significantly gotten better. A realistic floor is 10th, and their ceiling is 6th. Not bad for a side with the ability to compete with top clubs. Wolves will be contenders if their stars, primarily Jimenez, stay healthy.
Projected Finish: 8th
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