Wolves are on the brink of agreeing an exit deal, their first big hit since being relegated from the Championship.
The Old Gold’s tumultuous summer is taking shape, and their first major departure looks set to be their most important.
Wolves’ eight-year stay in the Premier League ended on April 20, when West Ham’s draw at Crystal Palace confirmed their relegation to the Championship.
They lost their first top five games and were unable to climb out of the bottom three. Following a relentless collapse, manager Vitor Pereira was sacked in November and Rob Edwards was appointed in his place.
The club spent more than £150m over two transfer windows in 2025, received little in return, and a reckless approach to recruitment made relegation inevitable long before it was confirmed.
Wolves battle with West Brom for Rangers ace who decided to leave with team-mates
He is destined to quit Glasgow.
Edwards steadied the ship in the second half of the season, but the task facing him this summer is enormous.
Wolves have their own transfer plans in place, but the personnel overhaul will be extensive, with the team stripped of their top-flight status and left vulnerable to approaches from clubs with bigger offers.
Wolves star Joao Gomez is ‘closer’ to joining Atletico Madrid
At the center of that vulnerability is Joao Gomez, and according to talkSPORT’s Ben Jacobs, Atletico Madrid are close to signing him.
Jacobs reports that Atlético and Wolves are negotiating through an intermediary and that the two sides are close to reaching a “verbal agreement” worth around £39m.
The transfer would be a big return for the player who joined from Flamengo in January 2023 and has become one of the most reliable performers in Wolves’ chaotic midfield.
The 25-year-old Brazilian has made 33 appearances in the Premier League this season, registering one goal and one assist, but it is his defensive prowess, energy and consistency that make him one of the division’s most coveted central midfielders.
Molineux’s contract runs until June 2030, giving Wolves a strong negotiating position on paper, but the realities of Championship football make it much harder to hold on to their star player.
There are also broader aspects to Gomez’s deal that will be of interest to Arsenal and Manchester United in particular.
In the same update, Jacobs revealed that Atlético have reached a verbal agreement with Atalanta’s Ederson, another midfield target, but a transfer fee has not yet been agreed.
The impasse has opened the door for a surge of Premier League clubs to emerge, with Arsenal and United both identified as teams with specific interest in the Brazilian if Atletico are unable to strike a deal.
For Wolves, Gomez’s situation highlights the scale of the task ahead.
Edwards is thought to be widely admired within the club and there is no appetite for further managerial changes.
Whether he is given the tools to compete for an immediate return to the Premier League will be the deciding question in the summer at Molineux.
Approach: Crystal Palace open contract talks for £40,000-a-week Wolves player
The Eagles are in contact to sign the Wolverhampton Wanderers star.
