Wolves appoint O'Neil as new coach after Lopetegui exit
Gary O'Neil has been appointed as the new head coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three-year contract, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday.
Wolves wasted little time in bringing in the former Bournemouth manager after Julen Lopetegui, quit his post on Tuesday - just days before the start of the new Premier League season. Lopetegui and Wolves parted company less than a week before their first game of the 2023/24 league campaign, at Manchester United on Monday, with reported differences on transfer policy said to be behind the end of the Spaniard's nine months in charge at Molineux.
The 40-year-old O'Neil, a rising star among English football managers, was immediately installed as favourite to take over at the West Midlands club, having been surprisingly sacked by Bournemouth in June despite guiding the Cherries to Premier League safety last season.
"We're delighted to welcome Gary to the club," said Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs in a statement. "He's a highly-motivated young coach with strong principles and very well thought of by everyone he has worked with, and we're excited to see what we can achieve together at Wolves.
"Our players have shown their quality during pre-season, and I believe Gary and his team will continue to coach and improve them and will have success working with this group." O'Neil, who made his name in football as a midfielder with Portsmouth, replaced Scott Parker as Bournemouth manager at the end of August last year and led the team to a 15th-place finish in the Premier League.