Sevilla head coach Lopetegui preferred Wolverhampton's coach

IMG:skysports

Julen Lopetegui is Wolves' preferred candidate for the vacant head coach position at Molineux.

The Midlands side sacked Bruno Lage after 15 months on Sunday, one day after they lost 2-0 to fellow early season strugglers West Ham. They have scored only three league goals so far in 2022/23 - despite registering 97 shots - and currently sit 18th in the Premier League table.

However, Wolves are not in a hurry to appoint a successor to Lage, with coaches Steve Davis and James Collins set to take charge of Saturday's game at Chelsea.

Lopetegui has been in charge at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan since June 2019, but is increasingly under pressure with Sevilla having won just once in eight league games. The La Liga club sit one point above the relegation zone at present and are bottom of their Champions League group, too.

Portuguese football expert Pedro Sepulveda believes agent Jorge Mendes wants to 'continue the Portuguese era' at Wolves following the sacking of Bruno Lage.

The 56-year-old was linked with the job at Molineux back in 2016, but he became manager of the Spanish national team, with whom he spent the best part of the next two years before an ill-fated 14-match spell in charge at Real Madrid.

Wolves need a manager to hit the ground running - and Lopetegui is a coach with pedigree.

Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui is Wolves' preferred candidate for the vacant head coach position at Molineux

Sky Sports' Anton Toloui:

"Lopetegui is well known by the Fosun ownership group because they tried to get him in six years ago, but he decided to go and take charge of Spain instead. He is someone who has been on their radar for a long time and is well known by Jorge Mendes, who Wolves use to facilitate a lot of their deals. The complication is that he is the Sevilla head coach.

"He has been very consistent there, with top-four finishes and winning the Europa League, so he is a well-established coach, but it has petered out a bit this season. Sevilla have started fairly poorly and have only won one game in the league all season, but they are in the Champions League and they have got a big game at home against Borussia Dortmund tonight.

"He is under a lot of pressure, though, so Wolves are waiting to see how the situation plays out because it affects whether he is available or not, potential compensation and all these sorts of things.

"They are not in a hurry and they are happy with the coaches they have got at the moment in Steve Davis and James Collins - the development coaches - taking charge of the game against Chelsea. But Wolves won't want to hang around for too long, as they have just slipped into the relegation places.

They have got a very attractive squad there, but scoring goals has been the problem for a season and a bit now. They averaged a goal a game in the Premier League last season and have only scored three this season. They have the worst xG differential in the league this season, which shows they are creating quality chances, they just aren't making the most of them.

"They need a manager to come in, hit the ground running and get them clicking from day one. Lopetegui is definitely a coach of pedigree. He was on the four-person shortlist for Manchester United before they appointed Erik ten Hag, so he is very well thought of."

Time up for Lage at woeful Wolves

Sky Sports' Adam Bate:

"Thirty-one games into a stint that has ended after 46 of them, Bruno Lage had Wolves seventh in the Premier League table and five points off the Champions League places. Since then his team have disintegrated and he finds himself out of a job.

"One win in 15 games reflects that dramatic decline. It is not just that they are the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season. It is the fact that they have scored fewer goals than Burnley since April - and Burnley were relegated in May.

West Ham's 2:0 win against Wolves in the Premier League

"Lage has failed to achieve his goals with a team that does not score them.

"Although there were boos and chants towards the end of the 2-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday evening, the majority of Wolves supporters retained some hope that the results would turn. Many believed that the talent within the team would win out.

"Lage's name was chanted loudly and often in his final two home games and cannot point to a lack of support. Even Dean Saunders and Stale Solbakken had a better record in their final 15 games. Whatever league you are in, that is bound to sour the mood a little.

"But events in London felt like an ending, a manager who had lost his way. Ruben Neves, Wolves' best player, out of position in defence. The diminutive Daniel Podence up front. Nelson Semedo on the wing. A team not set up to play to their own strengths.