Wolves have been relegated after round 33 of the Premier League, but in fact the club's leadership has been mentally prepared for this for a long time. Until Wolves heavily lost to Leeds 0-3 in the recent round, everything was considered the last move of a game that had seen defeat before.
After 8 years since promotion with captain Nuno Santo, finally the "Wolves" have temporarily said goodbye, not knowing when they will return.
The first thing the club's leadership needs to do is to manage the financial fund again because when they are relegated, commercial revenue and television rights will decrease very sharply. The cost reduction plan is always a priority, so many players will be sold off this summer.
After that, captain Rob Edwards will have to adjust the squad so that the team does not decline too quickly, which can easily make fans discouraged and no longer supported. In the past, many teams have been promoted after only 1 season of relegation, but there are also teams that have faded into the past for a long time. Not far away, the former Premier League champion 2016 Leicester City is facing the risk of falling to League One (Second Division).
Wolves have released their 2024-2025 financial report, showing a loss of £15.3 million despite record profits from player sales of £117 million. The main reason for this loss is that income has decreased in recent seasons due to low rankings in the Premier League. Last season, Wolves had quite few live broadcasts on television.
Last season, Wolves finished in 16th place, but this season, despite being relegated, they can still finish in 19th place. Therefore, they will record additional losses from television rights fees ranging from 10-15 million pounds.
In the first year of playing in the Championship, each club will be supported with a maximum of 55% of the basic Premier League broadcasting rights fee (expected 49 million pounds), the 2nd year will be at a maximum of 45% (expected 40 million pounds), the 3rd year is 20% (about 18 million pounds) and by the 4th year this amount will no longer exist. The team's revenue is expected to fall below 100 million pounds. In addition, it is predicted that ticket sales revenue next season will decrease by about 30%, estimated at about 14 million pounds, because ticket price reductions have been promised to fans in advance.
Player contracts include a salary reduction clause of about 50% in case of relegation. Wolves will save more when some high-income players leave but there will still be a gap between income and spending.
That means Wolves may be the team with the largest salary fund in the Championship next season, but the expected level will not be as high as some other teams in recent years. Leicester City's salary fund in the Championship has exceeded £100 million, as has Leeds' salary fund when they were promoted last year.
Therefore, any player who signs a new contract or signs an extension this summer will also have to endure wage cuts. Even captain Edwards himself, if he wants to stay to fight together, must accept this cost cut.
Although initially expected, the 43-year-old coach could not revive the Molineux home team. Since Edwards arrived, Wolves have played 22 matches and only won 15 points, only Tottenham and Burnley won fewer points than them in the same period.
Championship is inherently a high-speed league, almost every team attacks, so Edwards is forced to change their style if they want to adapt next season, along with the task of immediate promotion.
This summer there is the World Cup, so transfers will be very urgent if Wolves start from July. Therefore, right now they must prepare a squad for next season. Priority will be given to players who agree to reduce salaries to stay because they have experience playing in the Premier League, followed by "good, nutritious, cheap" deals. This is also the time for the coaching staff to dig in the academy to see if there are any young talents good enough to compete in the Championship next season.
