Wolves' relationship with favoured agency collapses as they turn to new recruitment model - expert

Wolves will focus on bringing players through their academy into the first-team if they are relegated to the Championship.

That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who states Wolves will not rely on a “top agency” to bring players to the club in the Championship.

Manager Rob Edwards has experience of the Championship having joined Wolves from Middlesborough, and the 42-year-old has enjoyed promotion from the second tier with Luton Town.

Edwards replaced Vitor Pereira as Wolves manager in November, but the club are still seeking a first win in the Premier League this season, with their summer transfer business seen as a key reason behind the poor form.

Wolves to build ‘internally focused machine’

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes the relationship between Edwards and sporting director Matt Jackson will be key for Wolves.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks it will take a rebuild for the club to assemble a Championship squad.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “And I think you’ve got to look at Wolves overall being in a difficult situation as we know they’re probably looking at relegation. I think it’s fairly obvious and so Rob Edwards and Matt Jackson, the new sporting director, are going to have to work together to try and build a squad capable of getting out of a Championship which is a whole different thing from the Premier League, as we know, so it would make sense that they’ve finally got cohesion. 

“The Premier League model was Wolves working with a top agency on bringing talent in. Now we’re looking at the Championship, where Wolves won’t be working with a top agency, but working internally to build the academy.

“And that needed a better relationship, better communication with the academy and the first team manager. And it does seem that Rob Edwards, who’s a Wolves man through and through apparently, and Matt Jackson do get on very well. 

“So it does make sense for them to have this more internally focused machine to try and get young talent coming through and hopefully create some player trading situations.” 

Wolves face losing key players in January

Edwards is already facing the prospect of losing key players in the January transfer window, even before there relegation to the Championship is confirmed.

Joao Gomes is being pursued by Man United, whilst Brighton are lining up a move for David Moller Wolfe.

There could also be interest in striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, who was the subject of a £55million bid from Newcastle in the summer.

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