Wolves’ biggest commodity is not any of the players

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Nuno Espirito Santo has worked wonders for the Midlands club.

When you take a glance at the superstar line-up that is Wolverhampton Wanderers’ first-team squad, it is hard to believe just how much quality they possess. For a Championship unit, they are often able to play a handful of high profile international names who could all go on to be world-beaters for some of Europe’s elite one day.

The likes of Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota immediately spring to mind but, in truth, their current position is not solely down to the squad members involved. In fact, you could argue that the main reason why Wolves have been flourishing has nothing to do with them and, instead, has everything to do with Nuno Espirito Santo.

The Portuguese boss seems to have some qualities that Wolves fans are more than familiar with: a no-nonsense attitude, a fantastic passion for the game and the club, and no fear. These are all attributes Mick McCarthy had, which is probably why they were able to rise up through the ranks with the former Republic of Ireland manager.

However, with the backing of owners Fosun, in addition to his experience across Europe, Nuno has been able to expand on McCarthy’s stellar work at Molineux and transform them into a team that would not look out of place in the top half of the Premier League. He has got Wolves playing with such confidence and style that, sometimes, their composure leads you to believe they are playing a pre-season game.

Nuno’s playing days as a goalkeeper were potentially key for developing his trait of reading the game from afar, as he was often able to analyse everything that was going on around him throughout any given game. Plus, at the age of 44, it is easy to consider the possibility of Nuno having at least two more decades in the sport.

Some would argue that any manager can lead a team with this kind of money to the promised land, but that could not be any further from the truth. After the failings of Solbakken, Saunders and Jackett, Walter Zenga and Paul Lambert were both brought into the club after Fosun took over, and neither were able to make their mark.

Nuno has managed it with ease almost instantly and, regardless of who comes and goes in the summer transfer window, holding on to someone with his drive is essential.