Wolverhampton Wanderers

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Players like Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund are already suffering from hamstring injuries two weeks before the season even starts - and they say the modern preparation regimes are better, safer and more scientific!

They probably are better. At least the players do not have to go through some of the borderline sadistic routines that previous generations did. Back then, after a decent length of summer break, pre-season meant working incredibly hard over a short period of time to get yourself back in top condition fast.

Sprinting up and down gigantic sand dunes against the clock until many players were physically sick was de rigueur, alongside other road runs and track work.

Here is the weird part: I used to look forward to that, the way a class swot looks forward to exams. Being smaller, lighter and a committed long-distance runner all my young life, even before I became a pro footballer, it was, if not exactly a piece of cake, then certainly much easier for me than most of the rest of the team.

I have asked many modern managers what they would prefer to do in a perfect world during their pre-season. The most common answer is "just about anything other than what we are forced to do now!"

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Pat Nevin, former Chelsea, Everton and Scotland winger writing in his Football Extra newsletter:

The pre-season friendlies are in full swing and let's be straight about this, the players generally hate these games, whatever they say.

They clearly haven't had enough rest in the summer, it is a grind getting your body back into peak shape, especially if the accumulated injuries from last season haven’t been allowed to fully recover.

The games themselves are weird affairs, where you would like to win but that is nowhere near the most important thing. Fitness, integrating new players, possibly a new manager and sometimes a new system are each more important. You also know full well that it is a hotch-potch of a team selection to give players minutes. The fans, mass media and social media will read far too much into every game and every performance.

From within the team itself, there are different motivations. A young or new player being given his first chance will be racing about like an overexcited spaniel. Other experienced players will be easing themselves back into it, the primary concern in their minds is to be fit and healthy come the first weekend of the Premier League season.

‌Deep down they don't worry if they get thumped by Celtic or DC United on their US tours, nobody at Chelsea or Aston Villa will remember or care about these results in two weeks' time.

‌Unless of course you are a DC or indeed Celtic fan. The Celts just beat Chelsea and Man City. Now that is impressive pre-season form or is that just Scottish bias.

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Wolves winger Enso Gonzalez sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee while playing for Paraguay at the Olympics in Paris.

The 19-year-old was carried off on a stretcher during the first half of Paraguay's 4-2 win over Israel on Saturday.

Wolves' head of high performance Phil Hayward said: "As medical staff, we are in close communication with our Paraguayan counterparts to arrange surgery for Enso and begin the rehabilitation process."

Gonzalez joined Wolves last summer and made one substitute appearances in the Premier League.

Image source, Wolves via Getty Images

We asked for your views on Wolves' 3-1 win over West Ham during both sides' tour of the United States.

Here are some of your comments:

Wolves fans

Matt: Great to get one over Lopetegui. We looked pretty sharp overall. Pedro Lima and Rodrigo Gomes an instant hit with the fans, just hope Matheus Cunha's injury isn't anything too serious.

Simon: They looked very sharp at times and our new signings did very well. Excited to see what Rodrigo Gomes and Jorgen Strand Larsen can do when the season kicks off. If we can shore up central defence, this could be a good season for us.

Craig: Very encouraging - yes it's only a friendly but after watching all of Wolves' friendlies last pre-season when everyone was writing us off, it was clear we had a good team and were going to be fine. I think the signs are very similar again this season.

West Ham fans

Faith: We're looking a little more attack-minded compared to last season, and we've still a few players to come back, so hopefully we start playing some better football. However, the defensive mistakes from last season still seem to be lingering. We simply can't have the same number of goals conceded as we did last year. Really needs sorting out.

Jon: I don't think it's worth worrying too much on the performances in friendlies, but we were far too slow. We've been left with an ageing squad from last season and we are in serious need of new transfers and squad depth soon; energy and pace is desperately needed.

Dave: Pre-season results are no indication of the season to come.

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New West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui's side suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of former club Wolves in their pre-season friendly in Jacksonville, Florida.

In a match that was delayed by just over two hours because of stormy weather, Matheus Cunha put Wolves in front before having to go off injured.

Mohammed Kudus equalised for the Hammers just before half-time, but two goals from Rodrigo Gomes after the break gave Wolves the win.

"He [Cunha] felt a slight pain behind his knee," said Wolves manager Gary O'Neil.

"It's disappointing. With the game being delayed and the wet pitch, they work so hard and are finely tuned, so it doesn't take much to throw them.

"Matheus is incredibly important to us, but the early signs don't look bad. He won't be risked again until he's completely fine, so the next few days I can provide an update."

Lopetgui has replaced David Moyes as West Ham boss, and said the Hammers "have to improve in a lot of things with and without the ball".

He added: "We have a lot of work to do in front of us."

Despite a delayed kick-off due to tropical storms, it was Wolves who came out 3-1 winners over West Ham in the inaugural Stateside Cup tie.

Forward Matheus Cunha put Wolves ahead after 18 minutes, before Mohammed Kudus levelled for the Hammers just before the break.

Two second half goals from substitute Rodrigo Gomes fired Gary O'Neil's side in front and they saw the game out to take the win.

It was a taste of Premier League football for this match in Florida, but what did you learn from the performances?

Wolves fans, let us know your thoughts, external

What did you make of it, Hammers fans?, external

David Lockwood
BBC Sport Editorial Sustainability Lead

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Los Angeles or Chesterfield? San Diego or Salford?

The pre-season destinations of 20 Premier League clubs may be varied, but the issue remains the same - the impact of so many flights.

Half (10) of the clubs have flown to the United States for friendlies; three have travelled to the Far East and the rest are in Europe and the UK.

Manchester United's pre-season schedule see them flying almost 13,000 miles playing fixtures in Norway, Scotland, and across the US. Chelsea and Tottenham are also expected to fly in excess of 12,000 miles.

In contrast, Everton will fly the least, with just one fixture outside the UK in the Republic of Ireland.

Spurs and Newcastle also played an exhibition fixture in May - three days after the season finished - for which they both flew to Melbourne, Australia, a game Alan Shearer described as “madness”. Add in those air miles and both teams will have travelled in excess of 30,000 air miles in the close-season, equivalent to more than once around the globe, to play in non-competitive matches.

Newcastle and Spurs both have a target to be Net Zero by 2030, while Manchester United and Chelsea are in process of establishing an emissions reduction plan.

Net Zero requires the reduction and removal of all 'non-essential emissions' - so are these games essential?

Wycombe's David Wheeler is a leading sustainability campaigner in football and told BBC Sport: "These games are only necessary in the sense that the clubs want to make more money and grow their fan base".

He added: "The vast majority of players don't want to be away from their families, they don't want to be travelling around the world after a full slog of a season. They're overworked and injuries have gone through the roof, so there is a synergy between player welfare and planetary welfare."

An estimated travelling group of 30 flying 12,864 air miles business class generates around 200 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of 500,000 miles driven by an average petrol car, or the entire annual emissions for a year of 16 people in the UK.

Tottenham said it is "committed to minimising its environmental impact" in all its operations, "which will take time and effort". The club says it "ensures" all teams travel "as sustainably as possible throughout the season". It "measures, manages and reports on travel emissions" and will offsets "where possible."

Read more about the Premier League's pre-season air miles here

We asked for your views on the news that Mario Lemina was going to be the new Wolves captain.

Here are some of your comments:

Dave: The right choice. Dare I say it, but we may have picked up a couple more points had he been captain last season. He is vocal and leads by example. Not sure Max Kilman did either.

Karen: Excellent. The captain should be in midfield or defence, in my opinion. He is a great choice.

Martin: Great choice. He will lead by example. Nobody works harder on the pitch than Super Mario.

West Wales Wulf: Absolutely had to be. The man has been outstanding since his first day at the club! Leads by example.

Richard: Mario was the obvious choice, and for good reason. Straw polls among fans after Max's departure showed two-thirds of us would back him for the captaincy. He shows tremendous leadership on and off the pitch and has clearly made Molineux his home. Absolutely spot-on decision by O'Neil that will help us kick on next season.

Ricky: Lemina was my first choice. I was not impressed with him signing for us until his first game. He's just what we needed. He seems like a leader on the pitch.

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Mario Lemina has been named as Wolves' captain.

The midfielder, who came to Molineux in January 2023, has skippered the team in their first two pre-season matches and will replace the departed Max Kilman with the armband.

"Mario was a standout choice for me," manager Gary O'Neil said.

"We have some real good leaders in the group but I think, for Mario, it's really good timing for him. He has big respect from the players, around all the different groups, and drives standards.

“We had a little chat to check his thinking and he was really pleased and excited, and he's done it really well since he’s taken over the last few weeks.

"He's very good at portraying the messages that we want and what the group needs. I'm excited to see what we can do, what Mario can do, and how the players can perform this year with Mario as their captain."

How do you feel about this decision, Wolves fans? Is Lemina the right choice or did another player deserve the armband?

Let us know your thoughts here, external

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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It isn't quiet in one specific part of the major football clubs - the acquisitions department.

I know that because I was once the acquisitions department - well me and the manager mostly. While each player returned from holidays like a bronzed Adonis, we were cooped up in a small darkened room, beavering the daylight hours away like vampires.

There is plenty of guesswork in the media and a fair bit of leaking from the players and their people, but the clubs usually try to keep their transfer moves as quiet as possible.

If word gets out that a player is available, they know they might lose him to another club or else the price will increase as a bidding war erupts.

‌These are high stakes games and many are impressed by those who gamble and go early.

Manchester City have always been good enough, and let's be honest wealthy enough, to be able to do this well.

The problem is that some clubs are trying to do the same thing and are ending up paying top dollar for less able players, because they haven't done their due diligence in the market.

This is another area where the use of data, or maybe over-reliance on pure data, comes into play - feed all of the numbers in, let the technology do the crunching, and out comes the answer.

The problem is that everyone else has got the same or similar data.

What is needed, of course, is good human knowledge and the vision to aid the use of the information they have got. This is why these departments should be busy just now, they shouldn't just be doing deals which are admittedly very complex legal and financial documents these days.

Even more time should be spent on ensuring the new £75m player hasn't got a hidden weakness in his game or even the odd skeleton in his closet.

Pat Nevin was writing for the BBC Football Extra Newsletter

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Scotland striker Che Adams has agreed a contract in principle at Torino and is set for a medical on Monday.

The Serie A side are believed to have beaten Premier League clubs to Adams' signature, with Wolves having reportedly been interested.

The 28-year-old is expected to sign a multi-year deal in Italy after his contract at Southampton expired at the end of June.

Adams scored 17 goals in 46 games as the Saints won promotion back to the Premier League by beating Leeds United in the Championship play-off final.

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It seems inevitable a host of Premier League managers will point to fixture congestion in the months to come.

When injuries mount, or when time on the training ground is squeezed, coaches often reference the intense nature of the calendar.

But research conducted by the respected CIES Football Observatory has delivered data which shows clubs are - on average - not playing more competitive games than they have in the last couple of decades.

The CIES looked at 677 clubs across 40 leagues. In looking at a period from 2012 to 2024, its findings show in 2023-24, the average club played 42.4 competitive matches. In 2014-15 that figure was 42.6 and in 2020-21 it hit 43.9.

And if focus is placed on sides competing in the Champions League, data gathered between 2000 and 2024 also shows sides are not setting fixture records in the current game, as some managers may like to loosely imply.

In looking at the five major European Leagues, the CIES claim Champions League competitors played an average of 50.8 matches last season.

In 2020-21 they averaged 57.9 and in 2002-03 they contested 55.2.

Manchester United played in 52 competitive games last season, down from highs of 71 in 2020-21 and 66 in 2008-09.

Across all of the clubs analysed, only 4% played more than 60 games last season. In 2012-13, the figure stood at 5.1%.

While clubs may play added friendlies and - it would be fair to say - individual matches tend to be longer given increased injury time in the current game, the data shows that competitive fixture numbers are flat or have in most cases fallen, even if disgruntled managers say otherwise.

The full study is here, external

We asked you who you'd like to see made Wolves captain for the new campaign.

Two men got the brunt of selections, with Mario Lemina on 56% and Craig Dawson on 32%.

It seems you'd like one of these to lead Gary O'Neil's side as the likes of Matheus Cunha (6%), Nelson Semedo (2%), Jose Sa (2%) and Joao Gomes (1%) were peripheral when you picked your preferred captain.

The figures above are at the time of writing and the selections are available here.

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Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Craig Dawson's influence cannot be underestimated.

At about £3m from West Ham in January 2023, the defender was an absolute steal for what he has given to Wolves and he has led by example.

Dawson's nine-year spell at rivals West Brom has been forgotten because of his commitment and assured nature. He has often been the quiet lynchpin of a defence which has sometimes needed a senior head to guide it.

A groin injury forced him to miss the final 12 matches of last season. He did not play following the 3-0 defeat at Newcastle United in early March - and perhaps it was no coincidence Wolves' form collapsed.

An FA Cup quarter-final exit to Coventry City and just two wins without Dawson in the run-in meant the side slipped out of European contention.

At 34, Dawson cannot be expected to go on forever, but Gary O’Neil knows he will be able to rely on him.

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

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Not all captains are the same. Some lead with their personality, as Conor Coady did so effectively for Wolves, steering and cajoling their teams through crises and triumphs.

Others are quieter - on the field at least - and rely on the excellence of their play to provide inspiration and reassurance.

Maximilian Kilman was in this category, but after his departure Wolves are likely to turn back to the tub-thumping type.

Mario Lemina arrived at Molineux only 18 months ago, yet it is already hard to remember the team without him.

His best work was seen less frequently in the second half of last season, in part because he was deployed in an unsuitable position to fill in for an absent forward.

It was typical of him to take on the responsibility and give it his all.

His performances did as much as anyone to repair the relationship between the team and the supporters, which had fractured in the months before his arrival.

They relate to Lemina because he plays the game in the way they would - if they could.

His relentless competitive spirit has marked him out as a leader on the field since he signed for Wolves, and the armband should suit him.

Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist

Max Kilman's departure to West Ham United means Wolves will have a new captain for the start of the 2024-25 campaign.

Who are the contenders to wear the armband next season?

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Mario Lemina has excelled in Wolves' midfield since joining from Nice in January 2023.

His all-action, combative displays have endeared him to Wolves fans, who voted him as their player of the season in 2023-24.

Lemina led Wolves out in their pre-season friendly win against Como in Spain on Monday.

Image source, Getty Images

Aged 34, Craig Dawson is the oldest outfield player in Wolves' squad and is vastly experienced, having made 288 Premier League appearances in his career.

Dawson's organisational and leadership qualities were key to the team avoiding relegation in 2022-23 and the side's progression under Gary O'Neil last season.

Image source, Getty Images

Matheus Cunha

Wolves' leading scorer last season with 14 goals in all competitions, the Brazil international forward is clearly popular among the fan base and his team-mates alike.

A pivotal player in Wolves' attack, he also played a key role in Wolves' acquisition of Brazilian teenager Pedro Lima this summer.

Any other contenders?

Portugal right-back Nelson Semedo was the players' choice for player of the season last term and has been part of a wider leadership group at the club for the past year.

Jose Sa has been almost ever-present in goal during his three seasons with Wolves, while 23-year-old Joao Gomes is now a regular starter in Brazil's midfield and highly thought of - could the next stage of his development be in a leadership role at Molineux?

Pick who you think should be the next skipper at Molineux here

Huddersfield Town are in talks to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Joe Hodge, who spent last season on loan at QPR. (Football Insider, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column