Wolves have seen another important figure leave the club, with Domenico Teti departing – and chairman Jeff Shi may well have regrets about one decision he made earlier this year.
Wolves are languishing at the very bottom of the Premier League table, having yet to win a game in the competition this season.
It was always going to be a tough start, but it has been a shocking first few months, and Vitor Pereira has rightly been sacked.
Pereira’s position became untenable at Wolves, and club officials finally parted company with him after the dismal defeat to Fulham.
Domenico Teti has since followed Pereira out of Wolves, leaving by mutual consent.
Teti came to Wolves as part of a restructure at the club in June, and the hope was that he and Pereira – who know each other well – would build a quality squad ahead of the 2025/26 season.
They failed to do that, and now Wolves are in real trouble.
Given how poor the recruitment was, one wonders if Jeff Shi is now having regrets about going all in on Pereira.
Jeff Shi may be ruing Matt Hobbs’ exit at Wolves
In mid-June, there was surprise when reports emerged that Wolves were going to be restructuring.
This mainly involved the recruitment department, and the club dissolved the sporting director role. That meant Matt Hobbs left Wolves.
Wolves did want Hobbs to stay at the club but in a different role.
Not wanting the role, Hobbs chose to leave and is now with Crystal Palace.
Teti came in as the new director of professional football, and formed part of a team that included Pereira, Jeff Shi, Matt Jackson, and then agent Jorge Mendes and his right-hand man Valdir Cardoso.
It has been widely accepted that Wolves’ summer 2025 window was poor, and Pereira and Teti must accept some responsibility for that.
One wonders how different things might have been had Hobbs stayed in his sporting director role and had the restructure had ever happened.
Hobbs had a bit of a mixed record at Wolves, and his reputation took a bit of a hit when he backed Gary O’Neil so strongly.
But there was no denying he brought some great talents and important players to the club, such as Matheus Cunha, Mario Lemina, Craig Dawson and Jorgen Strand Larsen.
It was claimed not long after he left that Hobbs had wanted to bring David Brooks to Wolves.
This season, Bournemouth have been flying and are currently fifth in the Premier League table – and Brooks has stood out for the Cherries, played regularly and even worn the captain’s armband at times.
In the end, Wolves signed no players in the summer that had Premier League experience, and are now paying the price.
Pereira and Teti were disconnected from Wolves’ recruitment team
The summer 2025 window is looking like the worst one since Fosun acquired the club.
Only Ladislav Krejci has hit the ground running so far, with the others still finding their feet.
Wolves just didn’t need this, given so many proven Premier League players and game changers left the club. At this moment in time, Wolves can’t afford for players to still be finding their feet.
It was suggested recently that Wolves had to bend to Pereira and Teti wishes over new signings in the summer, which meant that several negotiations started late.
Players that had been identified by the recruitment team weren’t pursued, with the alternative targets of Pereira and Teti taking priority.
The disconnect appears to have left Wolves really short in terms of quality, and the club must now try and rectify this in January.