The intensity of the Premier League relegation battle is ratcheting up, but for all their recent effort and improvement, it’s unlikely that Wolverhampton Wanderers will be pulled into the dogfight.
Rob Edwards‘ squad are on the wrong side of the street, 13 points adrift despite avoiding defeat in nine of their past 13 top-flight fixtures. Sadly, the damage was done in the early days, and Fosun’s objective must be to continue to save face ahead of the new campaign.
It’s not mathemetically impossible, and Molineux will roar every Old Gold goal with an intensity found even during the brighter days out in Europe under Nuno Espirito Santo’s wing.
|
Wolves’ Remaining Premier League Fixtures |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Date |
Opponent |
League Pos. |
|
10/04/26 |
West Ham (A) |
18th |
|
18/04/26 |
Leeds (A) |
15th |
|
25/04/26 |
Tottenham (H) |
17th |
|
02/05/26 |
Sunderland (H) |
11th |
|
09/05/26 |
Brighton (A) |
10th |
|
17/05/26 |
Fulham (H) |
9th |
|
24/05/26 |
Burnley (A) |
19th |
But poor recruitment has been the bane of Wolves’ direction in recent years, and it’s been their undoing at the highest level.
How Wolves have fallen onto the brink
Edwards has unified Wolves once again and turned them toward a positive outlook. It might be too little, too late, but the delicious run of end-of-season fixtures certainly suggests that there’s life in this old dog yet.
Even so, we cannot hide from the abject failings of the board over the past several seasons. Recent sales of Matheus Cunha and Pedro Neto attest to that.
Ruben Neves left Wolves for a club-record fee, but the Al Hilal midfielder is still missed in the Wolves engine room, his all-action qualities the perfect counterpoint to Joao Moutinho’s maestro-like control.
These were sales that shouldn’t have happened – or, at the very least, carried out with more tact and planning in regard to successors.
Now, Wolves are going to have to sell two of their superstars once again, but this time, it needs to happen as relegation looms large.
Wolves must sell the new Neves & Moutinho
Should Wolves go down, sales will follow. And while it’s an unsavoury thought, it doesn’t feel like keeping Joao Gomes on the books is very realistic, with the Brazilian valued at £43m and admired by the likes of Manchester United.
Andre only joined the club in 2024, but he’s grown into his skin in the Premier League, completing 90% of his passes this season and winning 55% of his duels.
Without this duo, Wolves would be in trouble, especially since fan voices on BBC Sport have noted that they have emerged as the new version of Neves and Moutinho at Molineux, burning with energy and sharing a quality to unsettle and disrupt opponents.
There was an elegance and leadership to Moutinho that helped shape the glory days. He matured like wine at Molineux, praised by pundit Alan Shearer for his ability to put on a “masterclass” in the centre of the park.
His connection with Neves was intuitive, effortless. The Portuguese companheiros rode the crest of a wave together, and while Andre and Gomes have established themselves as two of the better members of the current Wolves persuasion, they’ve proved unable to stave off the pull of relegation.
Edwards is going to be up against it this summer, keeping his mainstays at the club. The likes of Mateus Mane and Rodrigo Lima need to stay put, for they are the future of the team.
But Gomes has been with Wolves for four years, and Andre was coveted by the likes of Liverpool before he moved from Brazil to England; it’s likely that the 24-year-old will want no truck with the second tier.
The damage has been done, and while the fixtures are favourable for the Old Gold, to pull it off would be an astounding and unprecedented feat.
If Wolves achieve it, Andre and Gomes are bound to take centre stage. Should they fail, these profitable midfielders must be moved on, with the funds claimed bound to be instrumental in springing right back up.
£14m Wolves star was playing like Cunha, now he looks finished under Edwards
He has lost his place in the side.