Wolves are on the verge of appointing former Benfica boss and No 1 choice Bruno Lage as the club’s new manager… replacing Nuno Espirito Santo who resigned last month
- Nuno Espirito Santo left Wolves after four years via ‘mutual consent’ last month
- The club look to have found their replacement in ex-Benfica boss Bruno Lage
- Lage has a work permit hearing today which is not expected to be a problem
- He was an assistant to Carlos Carvalhal at Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday
Bruno Lage is on the verge of being confirmed as Wolves’s next manager.
Sportsmail revealed in April that Wolves were preparing for life without then manager Nuno Espirito Santo, and that Lage was one of the names on their list of potential successors.
Nuno’s departure by mutual consent was then confirmed a month later.
Lage, 45, has been out of work since last summer after leaving Benfica, where he won the Portuguese title in 2019.
Bruno Lage is set to be appointed as the new Wolves manager in the coming weeks
Lage has previously worked as Carlos Carvahal’s No 2 at Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea. Lage’s status as a free agent meant Wolves could appoint him without the need to pay any compensation, though he did have to apply for a work permit following the introduction of post-Brexit regulations.
That hurdle was cleared on Wednesday with Wolves informed that Lage’s application had been granted.
Wolves now need to finalise Lage’s contract, with terms understood to have been agreed in principle, and are confident work permits will also be sorted for his backroom staff.
Lage will replace Nuno Espirito Santo, who left the club after four years via ‘mutual consent’
Lage had turned down a number of roles since leaving Benfica in June 2020 and always had his eye on a return to English football.
He is a client of the agent Jorge Mendes, who is close to Wolves chairman Jeff Shi and represents a number of players at Molineux.
The new manager is unlikely to wield the same influence as his predecessor Nuno in a structure where transfers and contracts are controlled by Shi, technical director Scott Sellars and head of football administration Matt Wild.