Gary O’Neil is appointed as the new manager of Wolves TODAY after Julen Lopetegui left three days before the start of the Premier League season

Gary O’Neil is appointed as the new Wolves manager later today, replacing Julen Lopetegui.

The West Midlands side were without a manager just three days before the start of the Premier League season, after Lopetegui agreed a seven-figure compensation package to leave the club.

They have wasted no time in finding a replacement, and Mail Sport understand that O’Neil will be announced as the new manager at the Molineux.

Wolves have chosen O’Neil because of the excellent job he did at Bournemouth last season in helping them stay in the Premier League.

Many expected Bournemouth to be relegated last season, but O’Neil, who replaced Scott Parker in August 2022, kept the Cherries in the top flight.

The 40-year-old was sacked by Bournemouth, who replaced him in June with Andoni Iraola, despite accumulating 36 points to guide them to 15th.

At Wolves, he could face a similar challenge, with many expecting to be in contention to avoid the drop this season.

O’Neil is a young England coach who enters a dressing room where the core of the team consists of Craig Dawson, Max Kilmann, Matt Doherty and goalkeeper Daniel Bentley who also has a big voice in the team.

He will also be appointed for his work with top foreign players at the Cherries, whom he can relate to the likes of Matheus Nunes.

O’Neil would be excited to join a club the size of Wolves and is delighted to be developing a special relationship with the club’s supporters.

He would like to use the academy to build their players up to the first team.

Wolves could face a tough first couple of games given O’Neil’s lack of pre-season, although we hope he will help make a positive impact once he gets to grips with the side.

Lopetegui’s sudden departure from Wolves came amid disagreements over the club’s transfer policy.

The situation at Wolves is one of financial uncertainty, with chairman Jeff Shi writing an open letter on the club’s website last week explaining the need to comply with Financial Fair Play rules.

Shi wrote: ‘As the owners and management of the club, one important thing we need to learn and follow is the Premier League’s rules on profit and sustainability (previously called Financial Fair Play or FFP for short). There will be an annual test before the end of the 2023/24 season and we will make sure we pass it, as we have done for the past five seasons.”

To achieve that goal, Wolves have recouped £91 million in player sales this summer, including the £47 million departure of captain Ruben Neves to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal.

They only added defender Doherty and goalkeeper Tom King on free transfers, which led to Lopetegui’s anger.

Wolves counter that they heavily backed Lopetegui last January by approving deals of up to £77m after also paying more than £120m in fees 12 months ago.

Some of the money spent in January was originally earmarked for the summer, but Wolves decided to use it early to give themselves a better chance of survival.