It’s going to be a tough few months for Rob Edwards to fully sink his teeth into the Wolves job, aiming to get on board with a Premier League survival bid – and a former blueprint as Luton Town boss could offer an insight into his transfer activity.
Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards is expected to join Wolves this week, after Jeff Shi was given permission to speak to Edwards, with the Riverside outfit in the automatic spots in the Championship table.
Wolves have struggled this season, there is no doubt about it. Two points from their opening 11 games has left them with a real mountain to climb, already eight points adrift of survival at Molineux.
But Edwards will have faith that he can keep Wolves in the Premier League – and if his time at Luton Town is anything to go by, he’ll be in the market for a creative full-back to supply his two strikers with chances.
Rob Edwards’ playing style at Luton means a left wing-back could be in Wolves’ sights
Luton’s promotion to the Premier League in 2023 was unexpected, but it gave them a chance to battle against the big sides on the grandest stage of all.
Finding their own ways to land blows to the best teams in the country, one aspect that Edwards utilised was his wing-backs.
Namely, Alfie Doughty – who Luton had bought from Stoke City in 2022 – became a key component of their side on the left flank, recording two assists against Arsenal, scoring against Sheffield United, and being a real thorn in the side of various Premier League clubs.
In that campaign alone, he registered an incredible eight assists in the Premier League, and only Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier grabbed more from a defender in the entire division.
It was a tactic that worked well for Edwards. Carlton Morris ended up with 11 goals, and Elijah Adebayo scored 10 himself in a striking partnership that somewhat worked for Luton before they ended up falling short in the final two months of the campaign.
It was a huge insight into how Edwards tried to survive in the Premier League and with similar players to work with stylistically, that could issue a huge hint as to where Edwards could spend in the winter window.
Wolves’ squad could get working similar to Luton under Edwards to churn out results
With Jorgen Strand Larsen and Tolu Arokodare up front at Molineux, it’s a strong partnership to have – and one that should dominate aerially, as Morris and Adebayo did.
Bringing in someone with Doughty’s qualities would benefit Wolves massively, given they’ve really struggled to land a glove in the league so far.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  BurnleyBurnley | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 22 | -8 | 10 |
| 18 |  West HamWest Ham | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 10 |
| 19 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 20 | -10 | 9 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 25 | -18 | 2 |
Quality deliveries under a more direct coach than Vitor Pereira could bring the best out of their forward partnership, and quality players on the ball such as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Fer Lopez and Andre will be vital on knockdowns.
Of course, Luton didn’t stay in the Premier League, but they also didn’t have the quality and the financial backing that Wolves had. If Edwards is trusted with a larger budget in the winter window, that could be of great benefit to Strand Larsen and Arokodare.
Wolves haven’t properly replaced Rayan Ait-Nouri and getting themselves firing again will be huge, given the club have been given just a nine percent chance of survival by Opta.