{"id":663305,"date":"2026-01-16T05:39:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=663305"},"modified":"2026-01-16T05:39:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:39:56","slug":"wolves-relegation-plans-premier-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2026\/01\/16\/wolves-relegation-plans-premier-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Wolves Planning For The Future Despite Relegation Fears"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"408\" data-end=\"699\">Wolverhampton Wanderers appear increasingly likely to be relegated from the Premier League, but behind the scenes, there is a growing sense of direction at Molineux. Rather than drifting towards the Championship, Wolves are already laying the foundations for a swift return to the top flight. As reported by John Percy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/football\/2026\/01\/14\/wolves-look-doomed-but-how-fighting-back-rob-edwards\/?ICID=continue_without_subscribing_reg_first\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Telegraph<\/a>, internal discussions have recently centred on a long-term objective of returning to the Premier League by the 2027\/28 season, regardless of whether survival this year proves impossible.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"408\" data-end=\"699\">Wolves Planning Early for Relegation<\/h2>\n<h3 data-start=\"408\" data-end=\"699\"><span>Rob Edwards Brings Stability And Belief<\/span><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"940\" data-end=\"1188\">The appointment of Rob Edwards has brought renewed optimism, even if the league table remains bleak. Wolves are unbeaten in four matches under the former Luton Town boss, a run that has at least restored competitiveness and belief within the squad.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"940\" data-end=\"1188\"><strong>Read More:<\/strong><span> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2026\/01\/12\/strand-larsen-wolves-transfer-speculation\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">\u2018If It\u2019s Right for the Football Club\u2019: Rob Edwards Concedes Potential for J\u00f8rgen Strand Larsen Transfer<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1190\" data-end=\"1385\">Performances have improved against strong opposition, with draws away at Manchester United and Everton, and a long-awaited league win over West Ham offering small but significant signs of progress.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"1190\" data-end=\"1385\"><span>January Recruitment Focused On The Bigger Picture<\/span><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1446\" data-end=\"1743\">While Wolves\u2019 chances of survival remain extremely slim, the January transfer window is being treated as a critical stage in the club\u2019s rebuild. Recruitment is expected to focus on experienced players who can contribute immediately. This is either for a relegation battle or a Championship promotion push.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1446\" data-end=\"1743\"><strong>Read More:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2026\/01\/13\/napoli-man-utd-joao-gomes\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Manchester United Face Competition for \u2018Pitbull\u2019 Midfielder<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1745\" data-end=\"2020\">The club are also keen to avoid repeating last summer\u2019s mistakes, when significant spending brought in players with no prior Premier League experience. That lack of familiarity with English football has been acknowledged internally as a substantial factor in the current situation.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"1745\" data-end=\"2020\"><span>Protecting Key Assets Amid Transfer Interest<\/span><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2569\" data-end=\"2824\">Despite interest in players such as J\u00f8rgen Strand Larsen, Jo\u00e3o Gomes and Andr\u00e9, the Wanderers are under no immediate pressure to sell. The team have no relegation release clauses in contracts and is prepared to demand full value for their most important assets, with <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TalkingWolves\/status\/2011361782158254156\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">relegation wage-reduction clauses<\/a> already in place. Wolves believe they are financially equipped to absorb the drop without dismantling the squad.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2569\" data-end=\"2824\"><strong>Read More<\/strong><span>: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2026\/01\/04\/mateus-mane-gives-wolves-hope-new-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Wolves Tie Down Youngster Alan Shearer Praised As \u2018Absolutely Outstanding\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3027\" data-end=\"3282\">One of the most encouraging developments has been the emergence of 18-year-old Mateus Man\u00e9. The academy graduate has impressed since breaking into the first team. The young forward scored a vital equaliser at Everton and quickly earned attention from opposition analysts. Wolves are determined to retain Man\u00e9, viewing him as an important player with a long-term future rather than a short-term asset.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3447\" data-end=\"3669\">Even with relegation looming, the Wanderers are focused on momentum rather than resignation. Edwards has improved standards on the training ground, fostered a stronger culture, and helped several summer signings show better form. Whatever the outcome of the remaining fixtures, they are already looking beyond this campaign. The message from inside the club is clear: relegation, if it comes, is not intended to be a long-term setback.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3447\" data-end=\"3669\"><strong>Featured Image Credit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3447\" data-end=\"3669\">IMAGO \/ Sportimage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wolverhampton Wanderers appear increasingly likely to be relegated from the Premier League, but behind the scenes, there is a growing sense of direction at Molineux. Rather than drifting towards the Championship, Wolves are already laying the foundations for a swift return to the top flight. As reported by John Percy of The Telegraph, internal discussions [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5441,"featured_media":662183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,30,2510],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-663305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-premier-league","category-news","category-wolves"],"modified_by":"Alex Richards, LWOF Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5441"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663305"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":663349,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663305\/revisions\/663349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}