Over the last twelve months, all anyone has been interested in talking about in regards to upcoming teams is Wolverhampton Wanderers. Since being taken over by Fosun the Midlands club have been on an absolute tear, easing to promotion in the Championship last season courtesy of an outrageous 99 points total. Of course, the big question mark has been whether or not they’ve ‘bought their way’ to the second tier title, but fans of the club aren’t going to care about that – although the other 19 teams in the Premier League may have something to say about it as we draw closer and closer to the start of the 2018/18 campaign.

One thing they’ve been able to do expertly in the pre-season is tying down some of their key stars to longer deals, picking up some new ones in the process. Willy Boly, Diogo Jota, Ruben Vinagre and Leo Bonatini have all committed their immediate future to Wolves, although despite that, the main story still rests in goal where the signing of Rui Patricio has caused some serious controversy.

Yet while fans continue to complain about their methods, Wolves fans just keep looking forward towards what could be a blockbuster season for them. It’s no secret that the lower half of the Premier League hasn’t been all that strong for a few years now, and with that, there’s a huge opening for Wolves to come in and try to secure a place in the top 10 – which may sound ludicrous, but it’s happened before with promoted sides, so why not?

They’ll be kicking off their 2018/19 PL season against Everton, who are another side that will be looking to secure their place in the top half. Alas, their issues off the pitch and the disconnect between the club and the fans has led to some sour times in the last few years. Still, they’ll be fairly confident that they can welcome Wolves back to the big time with a reality check, although Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have been conducting themselves fairly impressively throughout the course of their pre-season friendlies.

During their last two games in Switzerland, during which they won the Uhrencup, Wolves saw off the challenges of FC Basel and Young Boys – two teams who have a notable pedigree in European competition. They were ruthless and efficient to the point where they secured 2-1 and 4-0 wins respectively with relative ease, and they only just seem to be getting started.

They’re being treated as a big-time team now for the first time in what feels like forever, with the Adidas kit sponsorship being a small yet significant sign of that. They’re the eighth favourites to win the Premier League in their first season back in six years, they’ve got a strong squad that doesn’t even need all too many more additions, and their first few games are set to really test their credentials in a way that could cause a handful of teams to stand up and take notice.

They could always experience a huge come down, but as they prepare to take on the Toffees, ensure that you don’t take your eyes off of the old gold & black.

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