Daniel Podence signs new Wolves deal before re-joining Olympiacos on loan

The winger has been free to leave all summer with just one year left on his contract, with both Julen Lopetegui and successor Gary O’Neil omitting him from first team training.

Reports suggested that clubs from Qatar and Saudi Arabia were interested in the forward and although Wolves are desperate to move him on, there was little rush with other leagues’ transfer windows still open.

Now, Podence has re-joined Olympiacos on loan for the season. There will be no option to buy him permanently, but Podence has extended his deal at Wolves until 2025, to protect his value and help the club make a future sale. There is also the option to extend it by a further year.

The 27-year-old joined Wolves in January 2020 for £17million from Olympiacos.

Sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “It’s no secret that Daniel was keen to look at new options this summer, but nothing came which suited us or Daniel, but this is an opportunity for him to go back where he was and play European football, and he was great in understanding that for us to allow it, he had to sign a contract.

“There’s still a possibility Daniel comes back and plays for Wolves again, but it was the right time to let him go and play this season. He can either come back after the season or we’ll be negotiating next summer with a player with a longer contract. He was respectful and didn’t push back – he was happy to protect the club. We’ll stay in touch this season, and I want him to do well, to either come back and play for us in good form or maximise his value.

“This has been on the cards since January, when Julen was here, that he could leave in the summer, but he wasn’t going to leave for anyone. He had offers from the Premier League, but he didn’t want to go, but with this opportunity European football was a big pull. It works for all parties. They get a good player on loan and we protect ourselves with no costs from this year. It was a palatable situation for all parties.”

Meanwhile, Wolves have appointed Ian Burchnall to O’Neil’s coaching staff as first team coach.

The 40-year-old joins from Anderlecht, where he has been assistant coach since March.

Burchnall has experience across Europe and at several different levels, after taking his first role with a first team when he joined Norwegian club Sarpsborg in 2012.

He has also worked in Sweden before taking the Notts County manager job, where he had successive play-off finishes.

Burchnall then joined League One side Forest Green Rovers last summer in a brief stint, before eventually moving to Belgium.

The Leicester-born coach will now join up with O’Neil’s coaching staff alongside assistant head coach Tim Jenkins, first-team coach Shaun Derry and goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler.

Wolves’ move for Burchnall came after they missed out on West Ham’s Mark Robson.

The Hammers’ under-23 boss was due to join O’Neil when he arrived at Molineux, and accepted the new job, before West Ham head coach David Moyes blocked the move and promoted Robson to first team coach – leaving Wolves to source an alternative.