Daniel Podence to sign new Wolves deal before re-joining Olympiacos on loan
Daniel Podence is set to sign a new Wolves contract before leaving to re-join Olympiacos on loan.
The winger has been free to leave all summer with just one year left on his contract, with both Julen Lopetegui and successor Gary O’Neil omitting him from first team training.
Reports suggested that clubs from Qatar and Saudi Arabia were interested in the forward and although Wolves are desperate to move him on, there was little rush with other leagues’ transfer windows still open.
Now, Podence looks set to re-join Olympiacos on loan for the season. There will be no option to buy him permanently, but Podence will extend his deal at Wolves until 2025, to protect his value and help the club make a future sale.
The 27-year-old joined Wolves in January 2020 for £17million from Olympiacos.
Speaking about Podence’s situation on Sunday, O’Neil said: “I never close the doors on anybody, the situation is moving. 95 per cent of the window has closed but there are still things that can happen, I won’t write anybody off, still part of what we do and we’ll see how the next few weeks progress.”
Meanwhile, Wolves have appointed Ian Burchnall to O’Neil’s coaching staff as first team coach.
The 40-year-old joins from Anderlecht, where he has been assistant coach since March.
Burchnall has experience across Europe and at several different levels, after taking his first role with a first team when he joined Norwegian club Sarpsborg in 2012.
He has also worked in Sweden before taking the Notts County manager job, where he had successive play-off finishes.
Burchnall then joined League One side Forest Green Rovers last summer in a brief stint, before eventually moving to Belgium.
The Leicester-born coach will now join up with O’Neil’s coaching staff alongside assistant head coach Tim Jenkins, first-team coach Shaun Derry and goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler.
Wolves’ move for Burchnall came after they missed out on West Ham’s Mark Robson.
The Hammers’ under-23 boss was due to join O’Neil when he arrived at Molineux, and accepted the new job, before West Ham head coach David Moyes blocked the move and promoted Robson to first team coach – leaving Wolves to source an alternative.
Wolves: Steve Bull slams “unbelievable” talent
Wolves all-time record goal scorer has given his opinion on Manchester City’s newest signing.
Wolverhampton Wanderers icon Steve Bull has been left furious by Matheus Nunes following his £53m transfer to Manchester City.
After refusing to train so the deal could happen the Portuguese midfielder got his move to the Premier League champions on deadline day.
Nunes had only signed for Wolves last summer on a five-year contract, with the West Midlands side paying a club-record transfer fee of £38m to Sporting Lisbon.
During his time playing at Molineux, he only scored one goal (which won April Goal of the Month) and recorded one assist.
How did Nunes get his move?
The 25-year-old whiz was targeted by some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs such as Liverpool, but Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola demanded that his side sign the Brazilian-born player.
This came after Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne was ruled out for four months after suffering a hamstring injury. This left City desperately needing midfield reinforcements, and after their £87m bid for West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta was rejected, City set their sights on Nunes.
At first, the Citizen’s bid of £47m was rejected by Wolves, and as the closing of the window drew closer Nunes informed his club of his wishes to leave and consequently refused to train for them. Prompting Wolves to respond to this by fining him.
Eventually on August 31st (transfer deadline day) the two clubs agreed on a fee of £53m with a 10% sell-on fee for Wolves allowing Nunes to sign a 5-year contract with the Champions of Europe.
What has Bull said about Nunes?
Following Nunes’ exit from Wolves club legend Bull has blasted the midfielder for his conduct.
Writing in the Express and Star the former striker said:
“There’s no loyalty in football anymore – it’s shocking in my eyes.
“I was disappointed and frustrated at how Matheus Nunes acted in his final days at Wolves.
“If you have a long contract you should try to serve as much of that as you can. I know a club like Manchester City can turn your head, but he shouldn’t have gone on strike.
“He should have got his head down and focused on his football, and let everyone else sort out the deal.
“But he’s gone now and I wish him well. With him going, Wolves have been able to add in some key positions.
“It is now up to Gary O’Neil to put it all together with the squad he has.”
Should Nunes have acted differently?
Despite Nunes eventually getting his move, Bell could be right with what he said regarding the midfielder’s behaviour being “shocking” and perhaps no footballer should use this tactic to get their way.
Earning around £85k-per-week at Molineux, the Portuguese dynamo was a key figure in midfield, ranking fifth in the squad for average WhoScored rating from his two appearances this term.
With 11 dribbles and three key passes across those outings, there is no doubt that he would have become a great threat for O’Neil in the final third, so it is indeed disappointing to see him depart in this manner.
Having also been lauded as being an “unbelievable” talent by ex-teammate Goncalo Santos, it will surely hurt Bull and the Old Gold faithful alike if Nunes starts to hit the ground running at the defending champions.
But for O’Neil and the coaching staff, they must now move on with the squad at his disposal, as Wolves will welcome a resurgent Liverpool to the Midlands after the international break.
