By Betsefy
New head coach Julen Lopetegui has admitted that he is keen to make changes to his Wolverhampton Wanderers squad during the January transfer window.
After initially turning down the opportunity to replace Bruno Lage in October, Lopetegui has now arrived at Molineux having agreed to sign a three-year contract.
The 56-year-old joins Wolves with the club sitting at the bottom of the Premier League table, four points adrift of 17th-placed Everton who they play next in the top flight on Boxing Day.
Lopetegui was officially unveiled at a press conference on Monday and was naturally quizzed on the club’s plans for the turn of the year.
Although the Spaniard stopped short of naming specific areas of the pitch which he feels need alternative options, the former Sevilla boss acknowledged that he would like to be proactive in the market.
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Speaking to reporters, Lopetegui said: “I agree because there may be possibilities to improve where we can with the market open. With that possibility, I think we are going to do that but I will not speak about names out of respect for our players because the most important thing is that for the next four matches, we believe in this squad.
“We have the feeling that we can improve the performance and we are going to work very hard to do that.”
Securing the services of a former Spain and Real Madrid manager is a considerable coup for a club of Wolves’ size, this appointment being six years in the making after Lopetegui rejected Wolves’ advances to become the coach of his national team in 2016.
However, comparisons regarding his style of play have been made to that of his predecessor Lage, and there are concerns among the fanbase that Wolves will encounter similar issues in the final third.
Nevertheless, Lopetegui told the media that he wanted a mixture of quality and fight from his squad, expressing a desire to create a team that supporters can be “proud” of.
Lopetegui said: “We need a team with quality, but we also need fighters and workers in this situation. We have our way to play, we want to translate this to the players, but in the end, when the fans come here to see this team, we want them to finish the match and be proud of this team.
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“This is the most important thing. We want to achieve this and to change some things, of course, but we want them to always be proud of this team.”
Lopetegui is familiar with a number of Wolves’ first-team squad, including Ruben Neves who made his professional debut when the pair were at Porto.
If reports are to be believed, there is a possibility of Wolves cashing in on their captain and most prized asset at a time when he has just over 18 months remaining on his contract.
Lopetegui hopes, however, that a reunion with the Portugal international, who became the youngest ever skipper in the Champions League under Lopetegui, lasts longer than a handful of matches.
“The future of Ruben Neves is to play at a high level. He is our captain. He is going to be very happy to help us, to get our goals,” Lopetegui added.
“I know Ruben Neves when he was 16, he played his first professional match with Porto with me, and I remember when I go out of Porto, I said that I want to manage you when you are 25-years-old and now I am here.”
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Lopetegui takes over a Wolves side that have scored just eight goals in 15 matches, a situation not helped by Raul Jimenez‘s ongoing groin issue.
The Mexico international is currently with his national team as he bids to prove his fitness before the World Cup, but Lopetegui has suggested that he would prefer the club’s first-choice attacker to miss the tournament in Qatar.
Lopetegui said: “I have spoken with them, not with all, but with two or three players. I have spoken with Raul about his situation with the national team of Mexico. I am worried about him because he doesn’t play any minutes with this team.
“We need all (of them), but we need Raul fit in the best version. I hope he is going to come back here in this way because the most important thing for me is not the World Cup, it’s Wolves.”
Lopetegui’s first fixture in charge of Wolves will be an EFL Cup fourth round tie against Gillingham on December 20.
