Wolverhampton Wanderers have a new face in control of the reins for the 2021-22 season, as bigger things came calling for the man who led them to the promised land three years ago.
Nuno Espirito Santo's departure from the club surprised several, but Molineux has not lost its Portuguese feel, as Bruno Lage – a Primeira Liga title winner with Benfica – aims to make a name for himself in England.
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With a tumultuous pre-season period now concluded, Lage is hoping to emulate his predecessor Nuno by steering Wolves into European competition, and the return of the Molineux faithful ought to help the West Midlands outfit bounce straight back from their underwhelming 2020-21 campaign.
Here, Sports Mole previews Wolves' 2021-22 season with Lage at the helm, including where we think the Molineux outfit may end up in the table.
FIXTURES
Wolves could hardly have been handed a more difficult opening month, as Lage's side kick off the new season against Leicester City before clashes with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United to round off August.
West Bromwich Albion's relegation means that there will be no Black Country derby in the Premier League this term, but fellow West Midlands side Aston Villa lie in wait for Wolves on October 16 and April 2.
Within the space of a month between December and January, Wolves must take on Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, but their final game of the season is a very welcome home clash with Norwich City.
> Click here to see all of Wolves' 2021-22 fixtures
SUMMER SIGNINGS
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In
Yerson Mosquera (£4.7m, Atletico Nacional)
Francisco Trincao (loan, Barcelona)
Rayan Ait-Nouri (£10m, Angers)
Jose Sa (£7.2m, Olympiacos)
Bendeguz Bolla (£1.8m, Fehervar)
Out
Hong Wan (undisclosed, Johor Darul Ta'zim)
Sadou Diallo (free, Forest Green Rovers)
Ruben Vinagre (loan, Sporting Lisbon)
Rui Patricio (£10.4m, Roma)
Ryan Giles (loan, Cardiff City)
Bendeguz Bolla (loan, Grasshoppers)
Dion Sanderson (loan, Birmingham City)
Matija Sarkic (loan, Birmingham City)
Leonardo Campana (loan, Grasshopper)
Theo Corbeanu (loan, Sheffield Wednesday)
Taylor Perry (loan, Cheltenham Town)
Total spent to date: £23.7m
Total received to date: £10.4m
Net transfer balance: -£13.3m
SQUAD
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Goalkeepers: Jose Sa, John Ruddy, Andreas Sondergaard
Defenders: Nelson Semedo, Ki-Jana Hoever, Oskar Buur, Conor Coady, Willy Boly, Romain Saiss, Max Kilman, Yerson Mosquera, Jonny, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcal
Midfielders: Ruben Neves, Leander Dendoncker, Joao Moutinho, Morgan Gibbs-White, Owen Otasowie, Bruno Jordao, Connor Ronan
Forwards: Francisco Trincao, Adama Traore, Raul Jimenez, Fabio Silva, Patrick Cutrone, Rafa Mir, Daniel Podence, Pedro Neto
> Click here for full details of Wolves' 2021-22 squad
STRONGEST XI
STAR PLAYER - RAUL JIMENEZ
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It did not take an ardent Wolves supporter to see just how much the West Midlands side missed their talismanic striker last term, as the Mexican was involved in a sickening clash of heads with David Luiz during a battle with Arsenal in November of last year.
One fractured skull later, Jimenez would undergo successful surgery and begin the long road back to recovery, but any chances of the 30-year-old featuring again in the 2020-21 campaign were extremely slim, especially with discussions over concussion in sports so prevalent in this day and age.
Jimenez returning to the Wolves training complex put smiles on the faces of football fans across the globe, and with a head guard in tow - which he will have to wear for the rest of his playing career - the striker has returned to action in pre-season and netted goals against Al Shabab and Stoke City.
An injury of such traumatic nature will leave Jimenez fighting an uphill battle to regain his 2019-20 form - where he amassed a total of 37 goal contributions (27 strikes, 10 assists) from 55 games in all tournaments - but the former Benfica man will always earn the respect of Wolves supporters no matter how the rest of his career may pan out.
MANAGER - BRUNO LAGE
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The latest in a long line of Portuguese names to arrive at Molineux, Bruno Lage succeeds Nuno Espirito Santo in the Wolves dugout seeking to emulate his compatriot and steer Wolves into the promised land of Europe once more.
The 45-year-old - who only had a very modest career as a player - managed Benfica at Under-15s, Under-17s and Under-19s level before a brief stint in the coaching ranks at UAE side Shabab Al-Ahli, where he spent two years before becoming Carlos Carvalhal's assistant at Sheffield Wednesday.
Lage followed Carvalhal to Swansea City for the second half of the 2017-18 season - which saw Swansea relegated from the Premier League - and he returned to Benfica for a stint with the B team before being placed in temporary charge in January 2019 following Rui Vitoria's exit.
After being made permanent head coach within two weeks, the Portuguese would equal and break records like nobody's business during his first half-season at the helm, which culminated in Benfica winning the 2018-19 Primeira Liga title.
Results would soon start to fade for Lage the following year, as he won just two of his final 13 league games in charge, but a manager with a Portuguese league title on his CV is not to be sniffed at.
LAST SEASON - 13th
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Gleaning 13 points from a possible 21 in their first seven matches of the campaign saw Wolves surge straight into European contention with the big boys, and despite Jimenez's horror injury in gameweek 10, Nuno's side still claimed a 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates.
However, the loss of the striker saw an immediate downturn in fortunes for the Molineux club, who would go on to win just one of their next 11 league matches - an impressive 2-1 success over Chelsea - slipping down to 14th and eight points off the bottom three as a result.
Wolves' fortunes appeared to be heading in the right direction following their second victory of the season against Arsenal in gameweek 22, as that result sparked a six-game unbeaten run which saw them rise to 12th before another serious-looking injury to Rui Patricio marred their March defeat to Liverpool.
In the remaining 10 games of the season, Wolves would only be able to march to narrow victories over Fulham, Sheffield United and Brighton & Hove Albion, and they ended a forgettable campaign with three defeats on the bounce to finish both 17 points above the bottom three and below the European places.
PREDICTION
With Jimenez back in the fold and the likes of Daniel Podence and Pedro Neto returning from unfortunate injuries, Wolves certainly have the look of a European-competing team on paper.
However, Lage may take his time to find his feet in English football, and despite bringing in some truly talented players, another bottom-half finish may be on the cards for the Molineux club.
VERDICT: 12th
