Wolves manager odds: Five contenders for Molineux vacancy
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Nuno Espirito Santo ended his four-year spell as Wolves manager on Sunday with a 2-1 defeat by Manchester United.
Attention has now turned towards a replacement for the Portuguese, who steered Wolves into the Premier League and led the club to the quarter-finals of last season’s Europa League.
Bruno Lage is the 4/7 favourite in the Wolves manager odds to take over at Molineux but who are the other contenders for the hot seat?
Bruno Lage
An unfamiliar name to many in English football, the Portuguese most recently spent a season and a half in charge of Benfica, where he also enjoyed eight years coaching in the youth system, and was an assistant to Carlos Carvalhal at Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea.
Lage, who led Benfica to the title in the 2019-20 season, is a client of Jorge Mendes, the super agent with a big influence on player and managerial recruitment at Wolves.
Paulo Fonseca
It is perhaps no surprise there is a Portuguese flavour to the list of early contenders for the role, considering the size of the contingent from that country already at Molineux.
Fonseca steered Roma to this season’s Europa League semi-finals but a seventh-placed finish in Serie A only proved enough to qualify for next season’s Conference League and he is now out of work, with compatriot Jose Mourinho heading to the Stadio Olimpico to replace him.
Sergio Conceicao
Conceicao succeeded Nuno in the Porto hot seat four years ago and finds himself in the running to fill his boots once more.
The 46-year-old former Portugal winger has led the club to two domestic titles since then, having arrived on the back of a six-month stint in charge of Nantes in Ligue 1.
Conceicao is also available at 9/2 to land his only job outside his native country.
Rafael Benitez
The Champions League winner is out of work after he departed Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Professional in January.
After successful spells with Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle in the Premier League, Benitez, 8/1 in the Wolves manager odds, may be seen as a safe pair of hands who could get the best out of the current crop of players and attract high-quality new additions.
Frank Lampard
The Chelsea legend is also in the job market having been sacked by the Blues in January and can be backed at 20/1 to fill the vacancy at Molineux.
Lampard had been linked with the role at Crystal Palace following Roy Hodgson’s decision to retire but has reportedly withdrawn from the race.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
