Like at home. At Molineux, Jorge Mendes feels a bit like home. The super agent, who took advantage of his excellent relationship with Luis Campos to place some of his clients at Paris Saint-Germain; is rather well established in Wolverhampton. Close to the management of Wolves (Fosun), the boss of Gestifute does his little business with the Premier League resident. He has sent several of his foals there in the past and now again. Among the players officially under contract in the current squad, Mendes notably manages the interests of Rayan Aït-Nouri, Matt Doherty, Gonçalo Guedes, Nélson Semedo and even José Sa and Pablo Sarabia. The agent also placed a few coaches of his on the Wolves bench. In the past, he sent Nuno Espírito Santo there. Most recently, he signed Julen Lopetegui.
Very bad results
Then, Wolverhampton tried to distance themselves a little from Jorge Mendes two and a half years ago, as explained The Athletic this Monday. The thinking heads of the club no longer necessarily wanted to depend only on him. But ultimately, they decided to come back to Cristiano Ronaldo’s former agent in recent days. It must be said that Wolves are going through a huge crisis. After 16 days of the championship, they are in 19th and penultimate place with only 9 small points on the clock (2 wins, 3 draws and 11 defeats). Only Southampton (5 points) is worse. Badly off to a good start, Wolverhampton, which has the worst defense (40 goals conceded) is on a very poor dynamic and remains on 4 defeats in a row, the last of which this weekend against Ipswich Town (1-2). It was one too many since Gary O’Neil (41 years old) was fired.
“The Wolves have parted ways with head coach Gary O’Neil and his staff. O’Neil arrived at Molineux just three days before the start of the 2023/24 Premier League season, taking on a significant challenge and ultimately guiding the Old Gold to a successful campaign. During his first season in charge, Wolves beat Manchester City and won impressively at Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as against rivals West Bromwich Albion on a trip to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.” In addition to the catastrophic results, numerous controversies have recently polluted the English club. After the altercation between José Sa and supporters after the defeat against Bournemouth, Mario Lemina lost his temper last week after the defeat against West Ham (2-1). In fact, he did not shake the hand of Jarrod Bowen, who had extended his hand to him.
Problems with the players
The latter criticized him and the former OM player threw himself at him on the pitch. They had to be separated by other members of both teams, including an opposing staff member with whom he had a tense exchange. In addition, he attacked the assistant coach of his club and then one of his teammates (Toti) in the locker room. For this reason, the captain’s armband was removed from him. “Mario will continue to play an important role for us. He will continue to be one of those experienced players who lead the team, but for now, we feel it is better for Nélson (Semedo) to lead this group.” On Saturday, the cuff changed shoulders, but the problems continued. A new scene has caused ink to flow. After the expulsion of Rayan Aït-Nouri, after a second yellow card, and a second opposing goal in added time, the Wolves spun.
Rayan Ait-Nouri, very angry, tried to confront his opponents. Matheus Cunha allegedly punched and elbowed one of the Ipswich Town staff members, who allegedly lost his glasses. The FA took this altercation very seriously and the Wolverhampton striker risks being costly for his action. In the middle of a storm, Wolverhampton is looking for solutions to get its head above water. It is for this reason that the leaders turned to Jorge Mendes and his address book. For several weeks, the agent, who knew that O’Neil’s reign was coming to an end, has been trying to place Vitor Pereira with the residents of Molineux Stadium. A technician that Mendes has already tried to send to Wolverhampton on several occasions. Still reluctant this time, since they hoped to attract Graham Potter, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or even David Moyes; the leaders changed their minds and decided to trust Mendes.
Jorge Mendes as savior?
So, The Athletic reveals that negotiations began on Saturday evening with Al Shabab, so that Pereira’s clause is lifted, an agreement is very close. Which could open up other prospects for Jorge Mendes, for the next transfer markets, particularly this winter. Used to sending players from his team to the Wolves, he could do it again by having a coach of his own on the bench. But The Athletic explains that the leaders will not necessarily give him full powers. “We don’t yet know how far Mendes’s return will go. When Lopetegui arrived with the agent’s help two years ago, his appointment was followed by a spending spree in January in which the Portuguese agent was also involved, with almost €100m committed to recruitments including Cunha, Lemina, Craig Dawson, João Gomes and Pablo Sarabia”.
The publication continues: “There are several reasons why Wolves will be reluctant to repeat this move. These large, unforeseen expenses played a significant role in creating the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PRS) issues that led to a virtual talent sale six months later to avoid possible sanctions. Wolves have invested time and effort before and since moving the club towards a more traditional recruitment model, with Hobbs in charge of finding lower-cost signings who can improve and generate a resale profit (…) As Wolves look for recruits – particularly at the heart of defence, with a centre-back a priority in January – there is a strong possibility Mendes could be involved. Despite his success in providing a host of successful players, including Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio, relations between Mendes and Wolves have been strained on several occasions in recent times. But the flame is visibly rekindled and Jorge Mendes is not going to deprive himself of doing his little business.
