Wolves overseas managers: How they have fared in the Molineux dugout

The well travelled coach, who has achieved success in Greece and Portugal among other countries, is to be the successor to Gary O'Neil as Wolves languish in the relegation zone.

He is set to be appointed on an 18 month contract, and his remit this season is to make sure the Molineux club survive in the top flight.

He now becomes Wolves' sixth managerial appointment from overseas, but how did the other five fare? We take a look

Stale Solbakken - July 2012 - January 2013

The Norwegian, who had a short spell as a player in England with Wimbledon, took over at Molineux following their relegation from the Premier League.

Back in the Championship, Wolves recruited a number of new players but Solbakken couldn't prevent them from dropping down the league table.

They slumped to a low of 18th, and after being dumped out of the FA Cup against non-league opposition, he was sacked. Solbakken finished with a win ratio of 33.3 per cent.

His managerial career did recover, as he returned to FC Copenhagen for a seven year spell and continued to add to his trophy haul, before taking over the Norwegian national team

Walter Zenga: July 2016 to October 16

By the time Wolves had appointed their next overseas coach, they had been relegated down to League One and bounced back again.

Then the former Inter Milan keeper Zenga arrived, following Kenny Jackett's departure.

Zenga would last just 17 games, winning just six during his time at the club and ending with a win ratio of 35.3 per cent. Later it was admitted by chairman Jeff Shi, that despite ten summer signings, the decision to appoint Zenga did not work.

After Wolves, he had a handful of jobs in Italy, before going on to Indonesia with his last job coming in the UAE earlier this year.

Nuno - May 2017 to June 2021

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Nuno was and will remain for some time, Wolves' most successful overseas manager by some distance.

Arriving in 2017, he brought in a number of quality players and took Wolves to the Championship title and back to the big time.

But it was to get better, as they would go on to finish as high as seventh in the table and reach the Europa League, the first time they had qualified for Europe since the early 1980s.

It got even better still when they reached the quarter-finals in Europe. He would leave Wolves in June 2021 to join Tottenham Hotspur, before then returning to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest after a short spell in Saudi Arabia.

During his time at Molineux, Nuno had a win percentage of 47.7 per cent, the highest since Welshman Ted Vizard in the 1940s.

Bruno Lage: June 2021 to October 22

One Portuguese manager goes, and another comes in. This time Bruno Lage was handed the reigns at Molineux.

Lage brought in a number of new signings, including Jose Sa and Hwang Hee-chan, who remain at the club today.

In his only full season in charge at the club, Wolves finished a credible 10th, but he was sacked in October 2022 after a defeat to West Ham left Wolves in the relegation zone.

Julen Lopetegui: November 2022 to August 2023

The former Real Madrid and Spain manager arrived at Wolves with a big pedigree, but he could have been at the club a lot earlier.

Lopetegui had previously been linked with Wolves before they appointed Zenga, but he was now tasked with dragging Wolves to safety.

He made a number of key January signings, including Mario Lemina and Matheus Cunha, with Wolves going on a superb to not only secure safety but finish in 13th.

But he would never manage a competitive game for Wolves again. A summer full of digs at the hierarchy over transfer funds came to a head on the eve of the season, when Lopetegui left the club by mutual consent.

He had won ten of his 27 matches in charge with a win ratio of 37 per cent. Lopetegui remained in England after his departure, keen to return to the Premier League, and he did just that with West Ham.