Wolves’ squad could be looking very different next season – and one player has started to lose prominence at Molineux.
Wolves can now look ahead to next season, after going 12 points clear of the relegation zone with seven games to go.
The 2-1 win over Ipswich Town was hugely significant, and there is now next to no chance Wanderers will go down.
It is now going to be very interesting to see how Vitor Pereira uses his squad for the remainder of the campaign.
In theory, some of the fringe players are likely to see more involvement.
One man who’ll be hoping that will be the case is Hwang Hee-chan, who has really fallen down the pecking order of late.
Hwang snubbed again at Ipswich as Pablo Sarabia and Rodrigo Gomes get nod
Against Ipswich, Wolves ended up winning thanks to goals by Pablo Sarabia and Jorgen Strand Larsen.
It was a brilliant win, and Sarabia has come in for a lot of praise for helping Wolves turn the game around.
Another player who entered the action as a substitute was Rodrigo Gomes, who was playing for the first time since recovering from injury.
It meant that Pereira once again overlooked Hwang, who has now seen no minutes in each of Wolves’ last three Premier League games. And before that against Everton, he was only given a 15-minute cameo.
Against West Ham United, Pereira sent on Sarabia for Andre, then made two defensive changes.
And against Southampton, Pereira used Sarabia and Goncalo Guedes from the bench. Data indicates Hwang has now been an unused substitute seven times this season – that didn’t happen once last term.
It is very unusual for Hwang – a £14 million signing from RB Leipzig (BBC Sport) – not to have any involvement at all for Wolves when he is fit to play, with every manager he’s played under at Molineux speaking highly of him.
But at this moment in time, the South Korea international appears to have a lot of work to do to get back in the team.
Hwang could leave Wolves this summer amid transfer interest
Last summer, Hwang was the subject of a transfer bid from Marseille.
Wolves turned it down, but just recently there has been speculation about Hwang’s Wolves future once again.
It’s thought several clubs have an interest in Hwang, and those clubs may now be keeping an eye of his situation at Molineux.
Currently, he is behind Marshall Munetsi and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in the pecking order, with Sarabia and Rodrigo both coming on before him on Saturday against Ipswich.
Pereira has been raving about Munetsi and the work rate he brings, and the Zimbabwe international seems set to continue playing as one of the inside forwards, which is bad news for Hwang
And now, Matheus Cunha is available for selection again after his suspension.
With Wolves safe, he will hope for more opportunities now. But he’s got to show Pereira he’s worth minutes.