Bruno Lage sends message to Jeff Shi as Julen Lopetegui 'identifies' first Wolves signing

Latest Wolves news from BirminghamLive includes a transfer target, Bruno Lage on his exit and Everton boss Frank Lampard on Conor Coady

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Alex Dicken Senior Football Writer

04:00, 03 Nov 2022

Bruno Lage was sacked by Wolverhampton Wanderers after a run of poor results

Here are your Wolves headlines on Thursday, November 3...

Lage sends message to Wolves' board...

Bruno Lage believes Wolverhampton Wanderers' board must learn that they 'cannot compete in the Premier League without a striker'.

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The Portuguese was sacked by Wolves chairman Jeff Shi a month ago after a run of poor results in the Premier League, stretching back to April. He left the team in the relegation zone and things haven't improved since his departure, with Wolves taking four points from a possible 15.

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Wolves' main problem this season has been their inability to score goals, just as it was in the previous two campaigns. Wolves have managed a Premier League worst six goals from 13 matches this term.

READ: Julen Lopetegui has told Wolves what to expect as Jeff Shi closes on top target

READ: Frank Lampard disagrees with Bruno Lage about Conor Coady after Wolves exit

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Injuries to strikers Raul Jimenez and Sasa Kalajdzic handcuffed Lage, while Diego Costa - who was signed as an emergency replacement - hasn't found the net in five appearances and now faces a three-game ban after being sent off versus Brentford.

Lage believes Wolves' striker shortage caused his downfall. Speaking at Web Summit in Lisbon yesterday, Lage addressed his Wolves exit with a message for the club's board.

“My time at Wolves was very good and I think the main point was that,” Lage said, via PA. “When we received the invitation it was to change a little bit the way the team should play and we did that with same system.

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“We played a different way and I remember in February we were in the fight for top four, in March we were in seventh position and the last games it was hard to have five players injured. But the good signs were the way we played in the season and especially the victory at Old Trafford, the first time Wolves beat Manchester United there.

“The second season was difficult and the schedule, it is different due to the World Cup and the games are coming. I think the big lesson that not just me, but all the board should have is that we cannot compete in the Premier League without a striker.

“Unfortunately at Wolves we didn’t have that striker and I knew that every time we played with a striker – not just the team but the players – the performances were completely different.”

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Lopetegui 'wants' Mariano at Wolves

Reports in Spain claim Real Madrid forward Mariano is of interest to prospective new Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui. The 29-year-old is surplus to requirements in Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti tried to offload him in the summer transfer window.

Mariano also missed out on a move away from the Bernabeu in the summer of 2021. Mariano has only played 46 games in La Liga across the last five seasons, and most of those appearances have come as a substitute.

He hasn’t enjoyed much success since a season with Lyon in 2017/18 where he scored 21 goals across all competitions. It was in fact Lopetegui, Los Blancos manager at the time, who brought Mariano back to Madrid in 2018.

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Madrid have negotiated with Benfica, Valencia and Rayo Vallecano to offload Mariano in the past 18 months, but a deal hasn’t been struck. MARCA claims Mariano’s salary - reportedly €4.5million per season - has been a stumbling block for suitors.

That equates to around £75,000 per week - but his deal expires in June. Mariano will be available at a cut-price in January.

Lampard sings Coady's praises

Frank Lampard says Conor Coady has proved he can play in a back four - three months after Wolves sold their captain because Bruno Lage wasn’t sure he was up to it.

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Coady was allowed to join Wolves’ Premier League rivals Everton in August after falling down the pecking order under Lage. Lage made it clear that Max Kilman and summer signing Nathan Collins would be his first choice pairing in Wolves’ new 4-3-3 formation.

England international Coady sealed a loan move to Everton and the deal can be made permanent for an initial £4.5million next year. The 29-year-old started the season in a back three before Everton boss Lampard switched to a four-man defence.

Coady has struck up a partnership with James Tarkowski to earn praise from supporters, whilst helping Everton climb the Premier League table. The Toffees sit 12th, four points ahead of 19th-placed Wolves.

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Everton have kept back-to-back clean sheets against Crystal Palace and Fulham, and Lampard believes Coady has silenced his doubters. He said: “We work on that a lot. I think that is the very good thing. Conor can play in a four and he has shown that. Him and Tarky [James Tarkowski]. Tarky has done it for years to great effect.

“We work a lot on distances and we work on situations we don’t want to be in. We work on making sure we can be in the right situations. As a group, defending the box, they are so keen to work together and protect the full-back next to them.”

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