Wolves fans won’t look back on Julen Lopetegui’s career at Molineux with fond memories, as the Spaniard struggled to imprint an exciting philosophy.
Julen Lopetegui was only in charge of Wolves from November 2022 to August 2023. Although he saved them from relegation, they were the league’s lowest scorers under his guidance in 2022/23.
The Spaniard didn’t play the fast-flowing and energetic football that supporters wanted to see, resulting in him not being the most popular name at Molineux.
Lopetegui walked out of Wolves just days before the 2023/24 season was about to start as he wasn’t being fully backed by Fosun in the transfer market, replacing him with Gary O’Neil.
But whilst the former Real Madrid boss didn’t leave behind many happy memories, he did make one transfer that has proven to be a masterstroke.
Julen Lopetegui pulled a blinder signing Joao Gomes for £15 million
Lopetegui was hired by Wolves in November 2022, and it was the 2023 January transfer window that effectively saved them from relegation.
The Old Gold completed the permanent signings of Pablo Sarabia, Craig Dawson and Mario Lemina. Most importantly, though, Wolves captured midfielder Joao Gomes for £15 million from Flamengo.
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A tough-tackling and tenacious midfield talent, Gomes was an unknown quantity in Europe, starting seven times in the Premier League towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
Since then, the 24-year-old has become arguably one of the best defensive midfielders in the league, with even Manchester United showing an interest in Gomes alongside many other clubs.
From establishing himself under O’Neil to becoming an even more integral figure under Vitor Pereira, the Brazil international has seen his stock and value rise rapidly since transferring to England.
Gomes once dreamed of joining Liverpool before moving to Wolves, and he could one day achieve his dream of playing in the Champions League.
What is Joao Gomes worth now
Last year, Gomes was valued at £60 million by Wolves amid interest from Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Man United.
The tenacious midfielder has since experienced improvements to his game, even chipping in with goals against Crystal Palace, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup.
| Joao Gomes Premier League 2024/25 | Statistic |
| Matches played | 25 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Tackles per game | 3.1 |
| Balls recovered per game | 5.2 |
| Interceptions per game | 0.8 |
Pereira recently praised Gomes as ‘top-level’, seeing him as someone who can excel on the international stage with Brazil and perhaps on the European stage later in his career.
O’Neil also described Gomes as a ‘super talent’ during his time in charge, and his ability to cover every blade of grass and chip in with goal involvements prove he was correct in that assessment.
So, while Lopetegui got a lot of things wrong at Wolves, his signing of the Brazilian midfield machine could end up pocketing his former side a huge fee.