Fulham have won the Championship and will now aim to establish themselves as a Premier League regular, but where are the 2017/18 title-winning Wolves side that last achieved it?
The Molineux outfit won the second-tier four years ago with 99 points from their 46 games under Nuno Espirito Santo. They had not featured in the top-flight in the previous six years and even spent a season in League One. Yet have proven to be a Premier League package.
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Only once over Wolves’ last three top-flight terms have the West Midlands natives finished the season outside the top-10. They have even pushed for a position in Europe in 2021/22, which has not been a sight seen from the three Championship-winning sides that followed.
Norwich City followed Wolves in winning the Championship in 2018/19, yet they suffered an immediate relegation from the Premier League. Leeds United, meanwhile, won the title in 2019/20, yet now find themselves fighting to the last to keep a seat at the top this term.
The Whites are battling Burnley, Everton and Watford to avoid following the Canaries in heading to the Championship for 2022/23. Norwich again lifted the Championship title in 2020/21 to bounce back, but are already relegated from the Premier League this season.
Fulham, then, will hope to follow Wolves in winning the Championship title and becoming an established Premier League side, unthreatened by relegation. The Molineux outfit have invested in their side to stay up each term, so where are their 2017/18 title-winners now?
John Ruddy (GK) – Wolves
John Ruddy joined Wolves from Norwich ahead of what would be their Championship title-winning season in July 2017. He remains at Molineux to this day, but his future is uncertain beyond the current campaign, having only signed a 12-month contract extension last June.
Bruno Lage may now axe Ruddy at the end of the season, having only played the 35-year-old four times since replacing Nuno last summer. All of the goalkeeper’s appearances this term have also come in cup ties, compared to starting 45 in the ‘17/18 second-tier season.
Matt Doherty (RB) – Tottenham Hotspur
Matt Doherty joined Wolves from Bohemians in 2010 and spent a decade at Molineux for 302 appearances across all competitions. Of those outings, 45 came during their 2017/18 Championship title win, while offering five assists and four goals from right-wing-back.
The 25-cap Ireland international then helping to cement Nuno’s squad as a Premier League outfit saw Tottenham Hotspur bid. Former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho paid £15m in August 2020, while Doherty later became key under Antonio Conte before suffering a knee injury.
Conor Coady (CB) – Wolves
Conor Coady joined Wolves from Huddersfield Town in 2015 for what has proven to be an absolute bargain £2m. He was originally signed as a midfielder, but Nuno turned him into a centre-back and also awarded the Liverpool-born talent the club’s captaincy from 2017.
The 29-year-old has gone on to remain a vital part of the Molineux backline in their years in the Premier League. His form also caught Gareth Southgate’s eye, to make his England debut in September 2020, reach nine-caps and feature in their squad during Euro 2020.
Ryan Bennett (CB) – Swansea City
Ryan Bennett left Norwich with Ruddy in 2017 and he proved key to Nuno’s Championship title-winning Wolves side that season. The centre-half made 29 appearances, starting 27, after forcing his way into the line-up from game 15, having previously only played in two.
He stayed at Molineux for their first one-and-a-half seasons in the Premier League, before joining Leicester on loan in January 2020. Bennett returned to Wolves in the summer, but later joined Swansea where he has only played 49 times with 20 so far this season.
Willy Boly (CB) – Wolves
Nuno signed Willy Boly on loan from Porto for Wolves’ Championship title-winning season before making the move permanent for £10m. The Ivory Coast international remained key to the Portuguese’s plans until the central defender suffered a raft of injuries last season.
Those issues failed to dampen Nuno’s admiration, with Alex Crook claiming he wanted the French-born enforcer at Tottenham last year. But Lage has not shared his predecessor’s belief with Boly only playing six Premier League games this term after yet further injuries.
Barry Douglas (LWB) – Lech Poznan
Barry Douglas joined Wolves for their Championship title win and left once the medal was around his neck. Leeds sought to pay £3m for the Scotland defender to aid their own aims for promotion in 2018, having offered 14 assists and five goals over 39 second-tier outings.
But he would only play a bit-part role at Elland Road as they sealed promotion in 2019/20, starting six of 15 appearances. Douglas then spent the following term at Blackburn on loan before joining Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznan in July 2021, as the Whites let his contract end.
Ruben Neves (CM) – Wolves
Wolves broke the Championship transfer record to sign Ruben Neves from Porto in 2017 for £15m. It was also the Molineux outfit’s club-record spend, and he could now bank the West Midlands outfit a joint British transfer record if they hold out for Lage’s valuation in full.
Reports by Sky Sports claim Mikel Arteta has made Neves one of his top targets at Arsenal. Additionally, 90min claim Tottenham joined the race with Neves refusing to sign a contract extension. Sport also suggest he has now decided he wants to join Barcelona this summer.
Lage wants Wolves to be reluctant sellers should a club want Neves. He stated recently, via the Express & Star: “What I know is we have a special player here with us. It’s not just about Wolves, in these days which club can refuse a proposal of 80, 90 or 100m pounds?”
Romain Saiss (CM) – Wolves
Romain Saiss was a key part of Nuno’s Championship title-winning Wolves side who is still at Molineux now. He joined the West Midlands outfit in 2016 and has gone on to play 205 games for the club, including 31 under Lage so far this season, across all competitions.
All of his outings under Lage have come at centre-back, but he occupied a midfield role as Nuno sealed their promotion. He played 44 times in the engine room beside Neves, while scoring four goals and creating another. Saiss also started 37 of his appearances that term.
Ivan Cavaleiro (RW) – Fulham
Ivan Cavaleiro was a part of Wolves’ Championship title-winning side in 2017/18 and has added another medal to his record with Fulham this season. The Portuguese left Molineux for Craven Cottage on loan in ‘19/20, but made the move permanent in January for £15m.
Wolves agreed to include a purchase option in the winger’s loan move to west London, where he has only played 18 games in Fulham’s title win following two lengthy absences.
Leo Bonatini (ST) – Grasshoppers (loan)
Leo Bonatini spearheaded Nuno’s Wolves attack in the second-tier with 12 goals and six assists over 43 appearances. But his output stopped in December and failed to make the step up to the Premier League with no goals and just one assist over seven games by 2019.
Not playing any top-flight minutes after November also saw Nuno send the forward out on loan to Nottingham Forest. He has since spent time with Vitoria Guimaraes on loan and is currently in Switzerland playing for Grasshoppers on a deal until the end of the season.
Bonatini will return to Molineux in the summer for the start of the final year of his contract in the West Midlands. His Grasshoppers career has featured seven goals and three assists in 24 games to date. He failed to find the back of the net in just five for Nottingham Forest.
Diogo Jota (LW) – Liverpool
Diogo Jota is the only member of Wolves’ Championship title-winning side now away from Molineux after a big-money transfer. Liverpool paid £41m rising to £45m with add-ons for the Portuguese forward in 2020, where he has become a key part of Jurgen Klopp’s attack.
He offered 17 goals on way to the second-tier title in 2017/18 as Nuno’s top-scorer ahead of Bonatini’s 12. Liverpool then saw fit to swoop two years later after offering 16 goals and six assists over 67 Premier League matches as a versatile wide and central attacking threat.
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