It has been a busy past couple of weeks at Wolves, with Gary O’Neil having been putting the players through their paces in pre-season.
Last week, the team flew out to Marbella for warm-weather training. It was a chance to get the fitness levels up, and also for a bit of team bonding.
Wolves played a game against Como 1907, before returning to the UK.
There was no letting up though, with Wolves playing against Bristol City at Compton over the weekend.
Wolves won both matches, beating Como 1-0 and Bristol City 3-0 in what is a promising start to the summer.
For the start of both games, Mario Lemina was named captain by O’Neil, in a possible hint about next season following the sale of Max Kilman.
But it was interesting to see who donned the armband once Lemina had gone off.
Gary O’Neil clearly values Hwang Hee-chan immensely having given him the captain’s armband in pre-season
In the two games Wolves have had so far, O’Neil has used different teams per period.
Against Como, Lemina started the game as captain but someone else then needed to take the armband with the whole team being changed.
Interestingly, the man to sport the armband was Hwang Hee-chan. This was despite Matt Doherty – a Wolves stalwart – playing in the same side.
And it was the same story again against Bristol City, with Hwang taking the armband for the second-half (which was split into two 30-minute periods, as was the first).
Interestingly, the team that featured in that second period against Bristol City included Craig Dawson, a player who has been widely tipped as a potential next captain at Molineux.
Experienced stars Doherty and Pablo Sarabia were also playing at the same time as Hwang, but it was the South Korean who took the armband.
We know that O’Neil greatly appreciates what Hwang brings to the table in terms of his tactical intelligence, ability to score goals and work rate.
But clearly, O’Neil now feels that Hwang is ready to shoulder a bit more responsibility. Last week, the manager again spoke of the player’s importance, and he played down speculation the payer could be leaving amid interest from Marseille.
Hwang has had a great arc at Wolves
It has been really nice to see Hwang be given the captain’s armband in pre-season.
He is perhaps not a player you would expect to be a captain, given he is not as vocal as the likes of Lemina or Matheus Cunha. But of course, leadership isn’t just about how many decibels you can produce.
Seemingly, O’Neil feels that Hwang is someone who can show leadership at Wolves.
When he first arrived from RB Leipzig (on loan initially, before signing for £14 million), Hwang would come across quite timid and reserved in media put out by the club but over time, he has grown more and more comfortable at the club and now seems to be really happy. And he is someone everyone clearly loves and respects.
Having struggled for consistency in his first couple of seasons, Hwang really thrived last term and earned himself a new contract last December to make him one of the best-paid players at the club.
Between that new contract, and him now wearing the captain’s armband in pre-season, it really has been a satisfying arc for the player at Molineux.