When Fosun International completed their purchase of W.W. (1990) Ltd in 2016, little did Wolves fans know how quickly their future could be changing. W.W. (1990) Ltd were the company who owned the club, and as a result Fosun International became the organisation in control of things at Molineux. Since the takeover, Wolves have seen a couple of managerial changes and their transfer activity has been impressive to say the least. When Jeff Shi was appointed the executive chairman of the club in July 2017, he relocated from China to Wolverhampton to oversee the club personally – and some of his plans for Wolves’ expansion have proven popular among the supporters.
Back in March, Shi revealed his vision of expanding the club’s stadium to an impressive 50,000 capacity. While that sounds huge for a club who have been struggling around England’s second-tier for the last six years, Shi’s ambition is clear for all to see. Wolves fans did respond with some concern regarding this renovation, expressing their fears that the club could wind up pricing the general public out of attending games at the stadium. He would later admit that there is a chance they could leave the stadium – their home for the past 129 years – in favour of a new development if the team can retain their place in the Premier League, where they returned after winning the Championship title last season.
That news, too, has been met with some skepticism. Tradition and history is always looked upon with fondness in football, and regardless of whether or not the move would symbolise a new era in the Black Country and represent the board’s ambition then a team with such a proud history would be better served fulfilling their future success at their traditional stomping ground – especially if you are a football purist. Where Shi and co have offered real excitement, however, is as far as the playing staff goes. As well as adding to the talent with the capture of Middlesbrough’s exciting midfielder Adama Traore for a club record £18m, they also added last year Rúben Neves from Porto for a then-record fee in excess of £16m.
Neves in particular looks as though he has the quality to excel in the Premier League after largely dominating the Championship last term, and with fellow Portuguese international Rui Patricio in goal there seems to be some top class talent making their way to the Midlands outfit these days. If Shi can continue funding the successful recruitment so far, then Wolves could find themselves solidified as a Premier League force. With this regime in charge of the club, despite some of the fans’ misgivings on certain topics, the future looks bright at Wolves. You could almost say the future looks orange.
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