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Wolves: Alex Crook expecting Julen Lopetegui to be in charge on Boxing Day

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Image for Wolves: Alex Crook expecting Julen Lopetegui to be in charge on Boxing Day

talkSPORT’s football correspondent Alex Crook believes that Julen Lopetegui will be in charge of Wolves when the season resumes after Christmas.

It comes amid speculation that the Old Gold have re-entered talks with the Spanish manager over their vacant hot seat.

Lopetegui was understood to have been top of Fosun’s list when it came to replacing Bruno Lage.

However, for personal reasons the 56-year-old had to turn down the job before the club diverted their attention to Michael Beale who decided to commit to his role at QPR.

But talks have now resumed and are believed to be ‘progressing well’ according to the Express and Star’s Liam Keen.

Now speaking on the talkSPORT GameDay podcast Crook has said:

(15:27)”I always got the impression after the Mick Beale debacle that there was still an itch that needs to be scratched in terms of Lopetegui.

“I think what’s key here is that it’s actually him coming back to Wolves and saying, yeah, I might be interested after all.

“I think they’re hoping they can get the deal confirmed before the World Cup. Probably the interim team will still stay in charge as was planned, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Lopetegui was in the dugout as early as when football resumes after Boxing Day.

“He’s someone that’s been on their radar for a number of years now. Just hasn’t quite worked out more due to bad fortune.

“Actually, first time around Spain came calling. He couldn’t turn that down.

“Obviously, this time around, there were health issues involving his dad.

“He’s got a big job on his hands, you know, especially with Costa now suspended following that headbutt. They’ve scored I think we mentioned it in midweek, six goals at this stage of the season. They are right down there. The fans seem excited by it. Good luck to him.”

TIF Thoughts on Crook’s comments…

Do you want Lopetegui as Wolves manager?

Yes!

Yes!

No!

No!

Indeed the Molineux outfit are the Premier League’s lowest scorers (6) and Lopetegui will be tasked with trying to overcome their issues in front go goal.

The Old Gold are currently 19th but given the Spanish manager’s track record of taking 1.85 points per game across 170 matches at Sevilla he could bring some much-needed improvements to the club.

A 4-3-3 formation seen during his final full campaign in La Liga last year could be the recipe for addressing their scoring woes at Wolves and the sooner he is appointed the better chance they may have of staving off relegation.

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