- O’Neil took the reins at Molineux less than a week before the start of campaign
- Wolves currently sit in 10th and are favoured to reach the FA Cup semi-final
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Gary O’Neil will be offered a new contract by Wolves including a significant pay rise after a hugely impressive first season in charge.
The former Bournemouth boss took the reins less than a week before the start of the season, and with nearly £150million worth of talent sold by the end of August. His initial brief was simply to keep Wolves in the Premier League against a backdrop of financial uncertainty.
Yet O’Neil has performed so well that Wolves have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe next season. They are 10th in the table, four points adrift of West Ham in seventh, and will reach the FA Cup semi-finals if they beat Championship club Coventry at Molineux next Saturday.
Asked about a new deal for O’Neil, Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs said: ‘That’s naturally where this is going. He’s done well enough to have that conversation.
‘Part of the conversation will be the plan for the club and that’s where you have to have the honest conversations about what it looks like going forward. That is an inevitable situation we find ourselves in this summer, for sure.’
Gary O’Neil is set to be offered a new contract at Wolves are enjoying an impressive first campaign at the club
Wolves are 10th in the table with aspirations of achieving European qualification. They have also progressed to the FA Cup quarter-finals
Though Hobbs denies Wolves will be forced to sell players in the summer, the Premier League’s spending rules mean such decisions must be weighed carefully.
Pedro Neto’s sparkling form this season means he will have suitors at the end of the season, with the wide attacker valued at about £60m.
Max Kilman, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Joao Gomes and Matheus Cunha – even though the latter is injured – are among those who also have admirers among Wolves’ rivals.
Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs said the club don’t want to sell more than two starters this summer
Hobbs added: ‘We don’t want to sell more than two starters. But if big clubs come I’ve never been the person to stand in someone’s way as long as we can reinvest in the right way to move forward.
‘We showed with other players leaving last year that we’re able to move forward with three or four starters going. We’re always looking to improve and we have the ability to turn down big offers, but every player has their number as well.’
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