Wolverhampton Wanderers confirmed the sacking of head coach Bruno Lage after slipping into the relegation zone following the defeat to West Ham last weekend.
Bruno Lage took charge of Wolves in June 2021 and guided the club to a 10th-placed finish last season. The Portuguese tactician’s failure to improve his team’s performances led to his exit, with a series of poor displays and results leading to fans turning on him.
The 2-0 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium—their fourth in just eight games—prompted Wolves to take swift action. With Lage departing the club and the owners working to appoint his successor, which direction will the Old Gold take and who will lead them into the future?
On that note, let us take a look at 3 managers who can replace Bruno Lage at Wolves.
#Julen Lopetegui
Julen Lopetegui is reportedly the favourite to replace Bruno Lage at Wolves, after the Spaniard was sacked by Sevilla earlier this week following a disastrous start to the season.
After winning the Europa League in 2020 and finishing fourth in LaLiga in each of the last two seasons, Sevilla have struggled this term. They have won just once in La Liga and are third of their Champions League group with one point from three games, which led to the sacking of Julen Lopetegui.
Wolves have been long-term admirers of Lopetegui, as the Chinese conglomerate Fosun wanted him to be their new manager following their takeover in 2016. However, Lopetegui took the Spain job and the club appointed Nuno then.
The Spanish tactician is hugely experienced and could do a brilliant job at Wolves while playing a possession-based, controlled and attractive brand of football.
#Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim is rated as one of Europe’s most promising young managers, and he has demonstrated his quality at Sporting CP since taking over from Silas in March 2020.
The Portuguese, 37, guided Sporting CP to their first league title in 19 years in 2020/21, before finishing 2nd the following campaign and getting the Liga NOS club to the Last 16 in the Champions League. He has developed quite a reputation in Portugal during his time managing clubs like Casa Pia, Braga and Sporting.
While Ruben Amorim’s Sporting have not enjoyed a great start to the season, winning four and losing thrice in eight games, he would be the perfect manager for Wolves. With the club possessing a Portuguese contingent, as well as a far bigger budget at Wolves, Amorim should be an alternative to Lopetegui.
#Sergio Conceicao
Sergio Conceicao has been a household managerial name in recent years since taking charge of FC Porto in 2017. In this time period, he has guided FC Porto to eight major honours, which includes three league titles.
Like Amorim, Conceicao, 47, too, prefers to play on the front foot while maintaining possession. The Portuguese is a clever tactician and knows how to get the best out of players, as demonstrated by his ongoing regime at Porto.
With players of better technical ability and flair, as well as the lure of managing in the Premier League, Conceicao may find it difficult to turn down the job if Wolves make an approach.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.