Wolves 2 (Abbey 42, Corbeanu 74) Crystal Palace 1 (Gordon 70) Wolves Under-18s earned a fifth round tie away to Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup after overcoming a late scare to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Molineux. Steve Davis’s dominant side took a deserved first-half lead through Jed Abbey, only for John-Kymani Gordon to equalise before Canadian Theo Corbeanu sealed their place in the last 16. They will now play serial winners Chelsea, who have won seven out of the last 10 Youth Cups, on Sunday, February 8. Wolves started brightly and could have taken the lead inside the…
Jonny Castro Otto has revealed Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo is his very own Gladiator when it comes to learning the lingo. Not only does head coach Nuno help Jonny on the pitch, but he is the Spaniard’s Molineux mentor when it comes to improving his English. When the 25-year-old arrived from Atletico Madrid, initially on loan in July 2018 before he became a permanent signing for £18m last January, his knowledge of English was limited, and gleaned through watching the popular TV series ‘Gladiators’. But Nuno has helped him develop his language skills so he can happily converse with…
Nuno Espirito Santo insisted the chaos of VAR ‘doesn’t make sense’ after Wolves lost their FA Cup third round replay 1-0 defeat away to Manchester United. Pedro Neto’s 10th-minute strike was ruled out by the video referee after the ball hit Raul Jimenez’s right hand from point-blank range following Harry Maguire’s sliding challenge on him. Juan Mata’s deft effort in the 67th minute proved to be the only goal, leaving head coach Nuno to reflect on more VAR misery for Wolves, who had Matt Doherty’s header disallowed in the first tie. “That’s VAR. Again, the momentum, we celebrate, but the…
Manchester United 1 (Mata 67) Wolves 0. Weary Wolves were left cursing VAR yet again as they exited the FA Cup to Manchester United at Old Trafford. For the second time in this tie, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had an effort ruled out by the video assistant, this time Pedro Neto after a ricochet off Harry Maguire hit Raul Jimenez’s hand at point-blank range in the 10th minute. Matt Doherty’s header was disallowed for handball at Molineux. Neto’s strike would have put Wolves 1-0 up in the third-round replay, but instead that was the scoreline to United after Juan Mata…
Diogo Jota is set to return to light training with Wolves next week – amid more encouraging news on Willy Boly. Jota has undergone a second scan on his calf injury sustained on New Year’s Day at Watford and it has come back clear. The Portugal international misses Wednesday’s FA Cup third round replay at Manchester United, as well as Saturday’s trip to Southampton and is expected to miss the visit of Liverpool on January 23. “Diogo had a scan on Monday, so I think next week he will progress to the pitch,” said head coach Nuno Espirito Santo. “He…
Wolves striker Rafa Mir is on the move again – this time back to Spain to join second tier outfit SD Huesca on an 18-month loan. The Spain Under-21 international goalscorer has spent the last six months at Nottingham Forest but they cut the agreement short and the 22-year-old will now move to Huesca until the summer of 2021. Mir joined Wolves in January 2018 in a £1.8m move from Valencia where he was handed the number nine shirt and played under Molineux head coach Nun Espirito Santo. The young striker knows all about the Segunda Division, having netted seven…
Nuno Espirito Santo has revealed Wolves players have been practising penalties – and replicating shootout conditions – ahead of their FA Cup third round replay at Manchester United. Wolves are aiming to knock United out of the competition for the second time in as many seasons after their 2-1 win in the quarter-final in 2018-19. Nuno is selecting a strong team and is leaving nothing to chance, even trying to replicate shootout scenario in training. “Every player took their penalties in practice,” he said. “In the eventuality that we go to overtime, we have to assess the players on the…
Nuno Espirito Santo believes Manchester United’s ticket pricing for their FA Cup third round replay is unfair on Wolves fans. Visiting supporters are being charged between £37 and £55 for a seat at Old Trafford, where Wolves have been allocated 3,048 tickets. Home supporters will pay between £13 and £46 for an equivalent seat. United fans paid a maximum of £35 for their seats for the first tie at Molineux. “Fifty-five pounds? It’s too much isn’t it? So I don’t agree,” said Nuno. “I would prefer fans do not pay too much but I cannot do anything about it. Make…
Wolves are still hopeful of signing two forwards before the January transfer window shuts – but they are not likely to be Thomas Lemar, Jarrod Bowen or Max Eggestein. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have been heavily linked with a move for versatile Atletico Madrid forward Lemar this transfer window. But it’s understood the financial package for the 24-year-old France World Cup winner, who cost around £50m when he moved from Monaco in summer 2018, would be too expensive for Wolves at the moment. Wolves know of Lemar’s terms through his agent Jorge Mendes, but they backed off when they learned…
Manchester United are likely to be without seven players for the visit of Wolves in the FA Cup third round replay on Wednesday. Ashley Young looks set to miss out again while fellow full back Luke Shaw must be a doubt after feeling a tight hamstring in the warm-up before Saturday’s 4-0 win aganst Norwich, with Tahith Chong taking his place on the bench. Jesse Lingard’s involvement is also uncertain after he missed the Norwich game through illness. Eric Bailly made his comeback from injury in the Under-23s’ victory against Newcastle on Friday, along with Tim Fosu-Mensah, and will continue…