Julen Lopetegui to hold more talks amid doubts over his future at Wolves
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Manager concerned FFP will hamper squad improvement
Lopetegui led club to safety after taking over in November
Julen Lopetegui is primed to hold further talks with the Wolves hierarchy this week amid growing uncertainty over his future. Last week Lopetegui suggested financial fair play parameters could be prohibitive to his desire to build on securing Premier League survival.
Lopetegui wants assurances from Wolves that he will be able to improve his squad this summer, but Wolves have spent almost £200m this season and are under pressure to sell players to avoid breaching Premier League rules. The captain, Ruben Neves, a £45m target for Barcelona, is among those set to depart.
Lopetegui said he was made aware of potential FFP complications only last week and reiterated after the draw against Everton on Saturday that he wants to refresh his squad. But his answer was ominous when asked whether he knew what Wolves require. “We have our idea, and we are going to see what is going to happen,” he replied.
The 56-year-old Spaniard has two years remaining on the contract he signed last year. Lopetegui, who took charge of Wolves in November, became the first manager since Nigel Pearson in 2014-15 at Leicester City to lead a club to safety despite being bottom on Christmas Day
Wolves insist the picture has not changed since their manager raised FFP as a concern. “It’s very difficult to compete in the Premier League without investment,” Lopetegui said last week. “Despite the club investing this year it has been a very hard year so we have to learn the lesson and do our homework to try and improve the team.”