With the imminent departure of Wolves duo Matt Jarvis and Steven Fletcher to West Ham and Sunderland respectively for a combined total of over £20million, new manager Stale Solbakken has already made his mark on the Midlands club.
Despite the exit of both Jarvis and Fletcher, Wolves have already seen arrivals such as Icelandic midfielder Bjorn Sigurdarson, Mali international Tongo Doumbia and Polish international Slawomir Peszko, and with the prospect of further signings in the coming weeks it is not all doom and gloom for recently relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The former FC Koln manager is now in charge, fans of Wolves can expect a new breed of players wearing the famous black and gold strip, with Solbakken looking to exploit his knowledge of German and Scandinavian football. This has seen Wolves linked with FC Copenhagen winger Christian Bolaños as a replacement for Jarvis and Norwegian prospect Markus Henriksen.
In addition to the potential new faces, it also seems as if the influence of Stale Solbakken has revitalised former Wolves captain Roger Johnson, a player who last year endured a torrid time under then manager Mick McCarthy. With speculation of Johnson turning up to training under the influence of alcohol, it is no surprise that the majority of the supporters were calling for a quick sale of the then Wolves skipper.
However, under Stale Solbakken Johnson has once again found the form that saw him earn his big money move from city rivals Birmingham, and has since then started to win over the fans of Wolves.
With a commanding performance in the first home game of the season against Barnsley, there is a hope that the towering centre back can now cement a place in the new look side and lead the club to success in the Npower Championship, resulting in an instant return to the Barclays Premier League.
by Jonathan Roberts
