Wolves appoint Julen Lopetegui as head coach

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Wolves appoint Julen Lopetegui as head coach

Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as the club's new head coach.

The 56-year-old has previously managed Real Madrid and the Spain national team, and most recently took charge of serial Europa League winners Sevilla for three seasons.

Lopetegui previously turned down the opportunity to succeed the sacked Bruno Lage at Molineux, owing to personal circumstances, but Wolves' decision to wait for the right appointment allowed the Spaniard time to reconsider and get back in touch over the role.

He will now succeed interim boss Steve Davis in the managerial hot seat, and will officially take charge of Wolves following the club's Premier League fixture against Arsenal - subject to being granted a work permit.

“Julen is a top coach, with excellent experience at an elite level of the game, and we are very pleased to have agreed a deal to bring him to Wolves," chairman Jeff Shi said in a short statement.

“Since the very beginning, Julen has been our number one choice to manage Wolves, and we look forward to welcoming him and his team when they join us in the coming weeks.”

The highlight of Lopetegui's management career to date is his success with Sevilla in the 2019/20 edition of the Europa League, when his side defeated Inter 3-2 in a thrilling final in Cologne. Their run through the competition, ironically, included a win over Wolves at the quarter-final stage, with victories over Roma and Bayer Leverkusen other notable wins.