It’s fair to say a lot has changed at Wolves since the club was bought out by Fosun International Group in 2016.
In that time they have gone from the mid-table of the Championship to an established top-flight side, with a team featuring an array of international stars and challenging the Premier League elite.
To emphasise the transformation, we’ve taken a look at the final starting XI before the takeover – which came in a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday that secured 14th place in the Championship back in May 2016.
GK: Carl Ikeme
A Wolves hero, Ikeme was preparing for what turned out to be the club’s promotion season when he was devastatingly diagnosed with acute leukaemia in July 2017.
The goalkeeper overcame the disease but was forced to announce his retirement from the game one year after his initial diagnosis.
Speaking to the BBC in September 2018, the former Nigeria international said: “I am not sure what the future holds. I am unemployed and just taking it day by day.
“I would love to go and learn from the Nigerian FA. Come to Wolves and learn a little bit from them. Maybe do a bit of media work.
“I am not anxious to jump into something because being with my family is my priority at the minute. I wake up every morning happy to be here.”
In 2021-22, Jose Sa became the first Wolves player to wear the No.1 jersey since Ikeme’s retirement – something the former goalkeeper approved of.
With the probability of a new keeper joining us soon it would be nice to see somebody take that No.1 Jersey ! 🧤
— Carl Ikeme (@Carl_Ikeme) July 13, 2021
RB: Dominic Iorfa
Once considered a hot prospect at Wolves, Iorfa was capped by England at Under-21 level but was sent out on loan to Ipswich Town as the Midlanders won promotion under Nuno Espirito Santo.
The defender then joined Sheffield Wednesday in January 2019 and has since made 83 league appearances for the South Yorkshire side in the Championship and League One.
Iorfa won Wednesday’s Player of the Year award back in 2020 and helped them to the League One play-offs in 2022. He will be hoping to go one better in 2022-23.
CB: Danny Batth
In a similar scenario to Iorfa, Batth was a fan favourite at Molineux as a local lad who captained the club.
But the centre-back began to be phased out under Nuno and was loaned out to Middlesbrough for the first half of 2018-19 season before joining Stoke City on a permanent deal that January.
He probably didn’t expect to be helping the…
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