Gary O’Neil looks set to remain in the Wolverhampton Wanderers hot seat for the time being, despite his side’s recent set of dreadful results in the Premier League.
The 44-year-old has been given the dreaded vote of confidence by the Molineux hierarchy, but no doubt a defeat this coming weekend to Ipswich Town would again ramp up speculation that the former AFC Bournemouth boss is soon to be a goner.
Emotions abruptly change in football after all, with a number of rumoured faces being linked to the Old Gold job post whilst O’Neil is yet to be axed.
Rumoured names to replace O'Neil
The name with the most weight behind it at this moment in time does seem to be Graham Potter, who is also being heavily linked with a move to West Ham United who have just beaten Wolves 2-1 funnily enough.
Talks had even allegedly taken place between the ex-Chelsea man and the relegation candidates, but nothing has obviously yet materialised with O’Neil still in the dug-out.
Moreover, other left-field shouts have included Carlos Corberan and David Moyes when looking at the ongoing rumour mill, with Corberan a potentially controversial appointment, considering his current side West Bromwich Albion are fierce rivals with O’Neil’s men.
But, away from those named so far, there is another spectacular option reportedly available to the Premier League strugglers who could become the club’s next Nuno Espirito Santo if he is handed the reins shortly.
Wolves chasing the next Nuno
Wolves fans would love to have Santo back in an alternate reality, as the former Old Gold favourite has Nottingham Forest in an unbelievable fifth spot in the top-flight rankings currently.
Whilst he is obviously out of reach, Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho isn’t, who could love a return to English shores after once honing his craft as the ‘Special One’ in the Premier League before going on to succeed all across Europe.
Reports from Turkey seem to suggest that Wolves have bid £5m to try and get Mourinho out of his current contract at the Super Lig giants, with the 61-year-old more than well-equipped to turn around the Old Gold’s stuttering fortunes.
Of course, Mourinho didn’t win that much-talked-about nickname by chance, with a stunning three Premier League titles collected whilst at Stamford Bridge, but it will be the defensive stability he could bring to proceedings at Molineux that will catch the eye more considering Wolves’ lowly predicament.
Stat
Mourinho
Santo
Potter
Games managed
363
158
141
Wins
217
59
41
Draws
84
40
50
Losses
62
59
50
Goals scored
625
190
152
Goals conceded
305
209
169
Looking at the table above, Mourinho – whilst at the helm of the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United alongside the Blues – had only seen his teams leak 305 goals from 365 Premier League games, helped of course by the fact he once had the likes of John Terry at his prime to call upon when at Chelsea.
But, he would be more likely to get a tune out of the downtrodden Wolves camp than Potter, who only has 41 top-flight victories next to his name from 141 career clashes, with just seven of those coming when in charge of the West London club.
The Portuguese icon is also unlikely to put up with any poor performances based on his past outbursts in the Premier League, with a number of Wolves underperformers perhaps raising their game if such an esteemed appointment was made.
As his compatriot Nuno – who Jamie Carragher dubbed “Jose Mourinho lite” in the past – has shown this season for Forest, a defence-first approach can work in guiding your team up the league, with his side conceding fewer goals than Manchester City at 18 from 15 games, whilst the Old Gold have shipped a disastrous 38.
The “outstanding” manager – as he was once labelled by Joe Cole – has only overseen 13 goals being leaked in league action back in Turkey, with this managerial coup having the potential to turn Wolves’ dire season around, away from simply sticking with what they have.
After notably securing promotion and qualifying for Europe during Nuno’s time at Molineux with a defensive-minded set-up – having been dubbed a “pragmatic coach” by Carragher – the appointment of another former Porto man in Mourinho could help to get this struggling side back to those previous heights.
Better than Corberan: Wolves can finally axe O'Neil by appointing "genius"
Wolverhampton Wanderers could soon be welcoming in a new boss if Gary O’Neil is sacked.
ByKelan Sarson
