Wolves reportedly considered Lee Carsley, before deciding to hire Gary O’Neil.
It has been a mad week for Wanderers, with Julen Lopetegui leaving the club on Tuesday.
The Spaniard’s exit had perhaps been on the cards, but it was still comes as quite a shock to many supporters.
The new season is just days away, and fans are now worried about what the new campaign has in store.
O’Neil has a huge job on his hands, and will be looking for his new players to bring him up to speed with what they have been doing.
It is certainly going to be fascinating to see how he gets on.
Hopefully, Wolves have made a steady appointment, and can get the club through the 2023/24 season without being relegated at the end.
O’Neil was the standout candidate for Wolves.
But the club did consider others, and one name has now been made public…
Wolves considered England U21 manager Lee Carsley before hiring Gary O’Neil
The situation at Wolves was discussed on the latest Express & Star podcast.
And on there, it was claimed that Wolves actually gave consideration to hiring England U21 manager Lee Carsley.
Journalist Liam Keen said: “I do have one name for you. The England U21 manager Lee Carsley. He was a name that was at least sounded out. Floated around as an option. I don’t believe he was interviewed. I believe he was put forward as an option and was discussed at Wolves. I would imagine that he was also pushing himself, and his people were pushing him to get involved.”
Carsley made headlines earlier this summer for guiding the Young Lions to glory at the European Championships in Georgia.
Carsley has been in his post since July 2021.
At club level, Carsley was briefly the caretaker manager at Birmingham City in 2017.
He also managed Brentford very briefly before the Bees brought in Dean Smith. He won Championship Manager of the Month in October 2015.
O’Neil a safer appointment than Carsley
It is interesting to hear that Wolves considered Carsley to replace Lopetegui.
But it is a good thing that he was not hired over O’Neil.
Carsley has done really well with England’s U21s and it’s possible he will soon get a job at club level.
But O’Neil was a better bet than the former Everton midfielder.
He’s already had some experience at Premier League level, and sporting director Matt Hobbs has painted an encouraging picture of the 40-year-old.