Wolves close to appointing Julen Lopetegui as new manager after fresh talks

Wolves are closing in on the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as their new manager after reopening talks with the former Spain boss.The 56-year-old had initially turned down a move to Molineux last month due to his father being ill.But Lopetegui is now back in the frame and Wolves are increasingly confident of landing their man after three attempts, the PA news agency understands.The former Real Madrid and Sevilla boss is not expected to be in charge before the World Cup break but Wolves look set to finally end their chase with Lopetegui having originally been close to moving to Molineux in 2016 before he became Spain manager.Wolves turned to QPR’s Michael Beale after Lopetegui decided against joining them in October only for Beale to perform a U-turn and opt to stay at Loftus Road.They then said caretaker boss Steve Davis would take charge until 2023, although an appointment before the end of the year was always a possibility.Wolves are second bottom of the Premier League, having won just twice this season, and are in desperate need of inspiration after only scoring six top-flight goals.Lopetegui won the Europa League with Sevilla in 2020, beating Wolves 1-0 in the quarter-final, while he spent two years in charge of Spain before joining Real Madrid in 2018, although he lasted just 138 days at the Bernabeu.Wolves have been looking for a new manager since Bruno Lage was sacked at the start of October.