With Hwang Hee-Chan’s days in a Wolves shirt looking numbered, here are four potential replacements for the South Korean international that Gary O’Neil must consider.
The 2024 summer is O’Neil’s first as a Wolves manager. The Englishman was appointed suddenly in August 2023, with little preparation for the new campaign.
Now, after a successful first season, he has a full summer to shape his Wolves squad in his image.
This has already seen three new signings as well as captain Max Kilman departing for West Ham. However, another star from the 2023/24 campaign may well be on his way out.
Hwang has reportedly agreed personal terms with French side Marseille with the two clubs in talks regarding a final fee.
With the South Korean international being a massive part of Wolves’ team, it will no doubt leave another hole in the line-up.
Therefore, Molineux News has listed four potential candidates that O’Neil must consider to replace the winger in the starting XI next season if he does leave.
Jonathan Rowe
Jonathan Rowe has been linked to Wolves throughout 2024 after a fantastic season with Norwich. In the Championship, the winger scored 13 times as the Canaries reached the playoffs.
The 21-year-old is believed to have high potential and the fact he is also English would help the club fill their quota in the Premier League.
Multiple players from the Championship have gone into the top flight and shone and there is no reason why Rowe can’t achieve this at Wolves.
Dennis Man
Dennis Man lit up Euro 2024 with his fabulous performances for Romania. The winger picked up two assists and one Player of the Match award as the Eastern European side reached the knockout stages.
At club level, Man also impressed during the 2023/24 campaign as he netted 13 times last season as Parma won promotion to the Serie A.
Dortmund were reported to be interested in signing Man earlier this summer and it is believed that he could be available for around £15 million. However, it is also believed that he is close to signing a new contract so Wolves would need to act fast to get the deal done.
Read more: Why Wolves must pursue Euro 2024 star Dennis Man.
Ritsu Doan
Another fantastic player Wolves should consider looking at is Ritsu Doan. Dudded as the ‘Japanese Messi’, the winger currently plays in the Bundesliga for Freiburg and competed in the Europa League last campaign.
Since signing in 2022, has scored 17 times and collected 13 assists in the Bundesliga in just under 100 appearances. For his efforts in the last campaign, he was awarded the Freiburg Player of the Season Award.
Doan would also allow Wolves to stay in the Asian market with the 26-year-old having played for Japan 50 times, scoring 10 times.
Daniel Podence
Wolves may already have their Hwang replacement at the club. Daniel Podence managed to keep the South Korean out of the Old Gold’s starting XI for a good portion of the 2022/23 campaign.
Here, the Portuguese winger was the club’s top scorer before he departed for Olympiacos on loan for the following season. In Greece, the attacker impressed massively as they won the Europa Conference League.
As a result, Olympiacos have made it clear that they want Podence back permanently.
However, this has not stopped O’Neil from assessing the winger in pre-season which could prove to be his way back into the starting line-up.
If the Wolves manager can convince Podence to stay at the club, he would no doubt be an incredible asset to have in the upcoming season.