Wolves have been handed a significant boost following reports of Manchester United’s interest in handing Gary O’Neil a coaching role.
It’s been an interesting time for Wolves despite the international break, with ESPN dropping a bombshell regarding Gary O’Neil earlier in the week.
It was reported that the Englishman was poised to be a candidate for the Red Devils future coaching setup, suggesting that United admired the work of the manager during his time at both Bournemouth and Wolves.
While it was uncertain what the proposed role would be, with a managerial position not expected to be the nature of the speculation, some associated with Molineux may have felt unnerved by the report.
ESPN reported that Manchester United like Gary O’Neil
As covered yesterday, the Red Devils are claimed to be fans of the 40-year-old’s work, with journalist Mark Odgen taking to ESPN’s YouTube channel to break down the speculation.
“They [Man Utd] want to have the best options available and the situation right now is that football operations want to canvas opinion throughout the game as to who are the best young coaches, who are the best managers, who are the rising stars and O’Neil at 40, he ticks that box.”
No word has come from the Wolves camp surrounding the report however, the general feeling is that the Englishman would be unphased by the claims, considering his words on his position at Molineux earlier this year, as covered here.
With O’Neil’s eyes firmly on the task ahead with the Old Gold, who have 10 games remaining of the Premier League season, ESPN’s report has already been talked down from United’s point of view.
Latest update dismisses links between Manchester United and Gary O’Neil
In a report courtesy of Express and Star journalist Liam Keen, sources have told the Midlands news outlet that United’s focus is firmly on Erik ten Hag.
Express and Star’s coverage of the news detailed that the Red Devils are ‘planning’ for the 2024/25 campaign with the Dutchman at the helm.
“Sources have told the Express & Star that United are currently planning for the summer with ten Hag in charge for next season.”
Added to that, Keen was insistent on the stance at Old Trafford when speaking of the topic on Episode 333 of the E&S Wolves Podcast.
“They [United sources] dismissed the report, pretty forthrightly and that would be music to Wolves’ ears. It’s a big thing for Wolves to keep hold of Gary going forward because of the job he’s done and what he is building.”
It’s certainly a huge boost for the Old Gold, who will not only not want to lose O’Neil but will want to stray away from distractions going into what could be a crucial run-in to the 2023/24 season.
With a European spot still firmly in Wolves’ reach, the boss will hope to take his side to new heights on the exciting project he is building at Molineux.