Wolves v Norwich preview: A potential Molineux farewell for some Wolves stars

Wolves have four senior stars out of contract this summer with John Ruddy, Fernando Marcal, Romain Saiss and Joao Moutinho all seeing their current deals ending at the end of the season.

Of those, Saiss has already said he will be seeking pastures new for next term after six years of service to the Molineux cause.

With big clubs across Europe eyeing star midfielder Ruben Neves, the Molineux faithful could see a raft of departures and new faces arriving ahead of the new campaign in August.

And for the head coach, as well as backroom staff members Luis Nascimento and Tony Roberts who are all returning following their spells away from the dugouts with Covid-19, it is a chance to give the home fans a positive send off for the summer. After the 5-1 mauling at the hands of Manchester City on Wednesday, Lage insisted: “Everyone deserves that. The fans deserve it, the players deserve it.

“What we did in the last game is not our image, but we played a strong team and you know how hard it is when a team like that scores early.

“One amazing player scored a hat-trick in 24 minutes with his left foot – this kind of thing can maybe happen once in your life.

“Now, it’s about the way we want to finish.

“Everyone deserves to finish the home games with a good performance.”

With the potential for a high turnover in the summer, Wolves are likely to spend more in the upcoming transfer window.

Lage has spoken all season about the small size of his squad and insists the club must ‘fill gaps’ in the team as well as replace any players who leave.

One vacancy Lage knows he must fill it that of defender Romain Saiss, who is departing after a six-year spell at the club

Saiss announced in an interview last week that he was likely to leave Wolves, despite the club offering him fresh terms.

He has since picked up an injury and will miss tomorrow’s game against Norwich, meaning he has already made his final Molineux appearance.

When asked if he was disappointed to be losing Saiss, Lage said: “It’s not about disappointment, it’s about understanding the season he did and the work he did.

“When we watch him having a great season, scoring three goals and being the defender who plays more in front – he’s the player I want to be more aggressive in front and find space.

“In the end he doesn’t find an agreement with the club. First we need to understand his role over six years and with me, playing on the left. It will be a difficult task because we need to replace a top player. It’s not about disappointment. We’re losing a player and now we need to find another one to replace him.”

Lage added: “I know, also, Saiss is very happy at the club. He likes to work with us and his family like to be here. But in the end they need to find an agreement between them.”

Daniel Podence is also expected to miss tomorrow’s game alongside long-term absentees Max Kilman and Nelson Semedo.