Wolves in Marbella: Hwang Hee-chan latest & mystery guest at training
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00:00Hello, I'm Nathan Judah and that is Wolverhampton Wonders Reporter. It is Mr. Liam Keane. Liam,
00:15it's really tough because obviously everyone's enjoying a heatwave back in England and here
00:20it's just miserable. Every single day horrendous. I mean if I'm stood here any longer I will
00:24not come back the same person. I'll be burnt to a crisp. I mean you are getting a little
00:29bit of colour. He's getting a little bit of colour. It's cream. It's cream. I'd say duck
00:37egg. Okay, duck egg. It's more of a blue isn't it? I don't know. What do you think Pete?
00:42An eggy shade. Show them, show them, show them. I'm getting there. It's a little bit
00:48shady but it's fine. Right, straight on with some news. Less of the pedantics. Right, okay.
00:53Games this morning. Yes. We knew that transfer movement was inevitable. We knew that bids
00:59are going to be coming in. Bids are going to be rejected. Players are going to leave.
01:02Players are going to come in. Marseille, interested. Bid put in for Huang He Chang. Absolutely.
01:10Roberto Di Zerbi of Brighton of course, formerly of Brighton, now in charge at Marseille. Big
01:14fan of Huang, should be as well because he's a good player, good Premier League player
01:18who's doing well for Wolves and of course had a brilliant season with 13 goals in all
01:22competitions for Wolves last year. They came in with a bid, very quickly rejected, a bid
01:28of 21 million, about 25 million euros, so we're talking 21.3 roughly in pounds, which
01:35is a fairly solid bid. It's a decent bid, yes. Absolutely, but it's certainly not enough
01:41for Wolves to consider at this stage. Wolves are very adamant this player is not for sale
01:46under any circumstances. We know the way that football works, that every player has a price
01:50of course, but for Wolves, his intrinsic value in many ways will be more perhaps than
01:56his transfer value on the face of it, because how much will Marseille be willing to test
02:00Wolves' resolve and make a big offer for him? Whereas for Wolves, they want forward players,
02:05they want to keep the forward players they've already got and add to that, well they obviously
02:07brought Larsen in to add to that forward line, and Gary Neal and Wolves are desperate to
02:12keep Huang He Chang for footballing reasons as well as off the pitch reasons. From a commercial
02:17and marketing point of view, he's a very, very big asset for Wolves. Far and away the
02:22biggest shirt seller last season, which we've said publicly on podcasts before as well,
02:26which is no secret. So yeah, I think for Wolves it's one that they're really, really keen
02:31to keep and they're not entertaining bids at all. However, if a crazy bid comes in,
02:36of course I'll have to take a look at it. Well, I was going to say that. Look, it's
02:39interesting isn't it? It's very rare that a first bid gets accepted by a football club
02:43just as the nature of the transfer market these days. But you do expect, if Marseille
02:47are interested, they'll put an initial bid in, that they will be back in for a second
02:51bid and maybe a third bid. You'd expect that to happen, especially with a new manager going
02:55there and if he's identified maybe one or two players, a bit like Lopetegui. He wants
03:00Kilman, he wants Kilman as his big guy, his biggest buy. He's got him, he's got the club
03:04captain. So, you know, you want to impress and you want to show willingness to your new
03:08manager. If De Zerby wants Wang Hee Chan, then it'll be interesting to see what kind
03:13of a figure we're looking at, where Wolves might go, OK, well, we might have to seriously
03:18consider that. What do you think that fee would be?
03:20It's tough isn't it? It's tough. I think you've got to take in, as I say, the intrinsic
03:24value of what he offers off and on the pitch. I'd be tempted to go as high as £35,000.
03:32I think you definitely need a three, don't you?
03:34I think you have to have a three on the front of it, at the very least. And that will be
03:39very interesting to see how far Marseille are willing to test, as I say, Wolves' result.
03:42And you've got to bear in mind that a lot of European clubs outside of England, they
03:47don't often spend as... I mean, obviously, Real Madrid and Barcelona are two examples
03:52that are different, Bayern Munich for example. But a club like Marseille, in French football,
03:57wouldn't often go out and spend big fees like this, you know what I mean? Are they going
04:01to go out and spend £35,000, £40,000 on a player from the Premier League? It doesn't
04:04often happen. So are they willing to go that far and really test Wolves' result? And equally,
04:11what does the player think? Because Hwang's had the best season of his career and certainly
04:15his best season in Wolves' colours last year. Obviously, he's teared off a little bit but
04:20easily his best campaign. He's wanted, he will play, it's in the best league in the
04:24world and don't get me wrong, Marseille are a big club and they're a good club. But is
04:29it a step up, leaving Wolves and leaving the Premier League to go to Marseille? I don't
04:32think so. From my personal opinion, the player, and I'm sure they'll probably leverage it
04:38to, you know, maybe he had a new contract fairly recently but maybe get a few more incentives
04:42out of it, as often happens in football. But I'd be surprised if he would want that move,
04:46to be honest.
04:47We talk about the forward line and we talk about the necessity to bring players in and
04:51attacking players in and obviously you've got Larssen there, you've got Rodrigo Gomez.
04:55You've got players coming in that Wolves need to hit the ground running to score goals.
05:01Huang He-Chan, like you say, his value to Wolves is very, very high because he can play
05:05as a nine, he can play on the right-hand side, he can play on the left-hand side. He scores
05:09goals, he got 10 in 2023, you know, before the turn of the year. So, this is very important
05:15and you get some fans saying, well he gets injured, he's here, there and everywhere.
05:18Yes he does, as do a lot of other players as well. But when he is in the team, this
05:22guy scores goals and that's very difficult to do at Premier League level and he has scored
05:26a lot of goals. He finds himself, you know, they might not be the most attractive goals
05:30but he is a player who gets himself in the right areas and that's crucial to the way
05:34Wolves and Gary Neal want to operate.
05:36Absolutely and obviously we've not seen Larssen yet in a competitive game but for the players
05:41available that we have seen at Wolves, for me, he's Wolves' most natural finisher. I
05:44think he's clinical in the box if you get him in the right places. There were moments
05:47in our first half of last season when he was scoring goals and he maybe wasn't performing
05:51at his best but he was popping up with important goals in important moments in games and that's
05:56crucial to have that sort of instinct in the box. You can't buy that kind of instinct.
06:01Often, you can't teach that kind of instinct as well. So, to have a player like Wang, who
06:05I believe is one of his big strengths, it would be foolish of Wolves to let him go.
06:10Again, obviously, it depends if a massive bid comes in that's too difficult to turn
06:14down. We didn't think Wolves should sell Max Killman but that money was too good. You
06:18had to let him go. If a bid comes in that we feel and Wolves feel is too big, then I
06:22wouldn't criticise them for letting him go for the right money. But, as it stands, £21
06:27million isn't enough. He's a good player. He fits Wolves' system. He's versatile and
06:32everything off the pitch as well. The way that he adds to the club's stature overseas
06:37is really, really vital. I'm going to play Devil's Advocate. Here we go. Okay, Devil's
06:40Advocate is, yes, we don't want to lose him. However, if selling Hwang Hee Chan and obviously
06:45Max Killman means that Pedro Neto stays, makes sure that Ryan Agnori stays, which
06:52means that they can give Nelson Sameda another couple of years on a deal, is that something
06:57where you lose Hwang, you lose Max Killman, but you keep those three or four? Xiao Gomez,
07:01let's say, Mateus Cunha if there's some bids in for him, but those players stay. Is there
07:05an argument to say, maybe the one or two big potential sales this summer aren't the ones
07:10that we maybe thought were at the forefront of everybody's people's minds? This is actually,
07:15if you're going to bring in three or four or five players off the back of these two,
07:18actually a decent summer for Wolves. No, you really have put me on the spot. Sorry. You
07:22really have. Sorry. Because as much as I've basically just argued that I don't want Hwang
07:27to go and I think it'd be foolish of Wolves to sell him unless the big money's there,
07:32you do make a pretty compelling argument because if you keep hold of those players,
07:36and that's a big if by the way. Sure, of course, a massive if. Hypothetically. And it's whether
07:39those players want to be there as well. Exactly. But hypothetically, if you keep those and you've
07:43lost Kilwin and Hwang, I would like to think the Wolves would replace them as well. Plus maybe
07:47the periphery of maybe a Fabio or maybe a Geddes or something like that. Exactly. Then there's a
07:52really strong argument to say that that would be a good summer. Yeah, it's interesting. But it also
07:56depends on the players that come in as well. The three players we've seen so far come in,
07:59really good business. If we see a couple of others coming to replace those two, hypothetically,
08:03they would have to be strong first team players, I think. So a lot of ifs and buts in there,
08:08but you do make a compelling argument. So it'd be an interesting one, wouldn't it? Still got
08:12a crew after me, double glazing salesman. Well, I wouldn't go that far. Okay, no, definitely not
08:18assistant. Right, training today. Yes. Very interesting news, players working hard, fitness
08:25again and this was hot, hot, hot, hot again today and there was a new member at training today,
08:30an exclusive, a new person getting involved in training. I mean, you'll be excited to hear.
08:36Liam Keane, tell us more. It wasn't me, it wasn't you. It wasn't. People would like to see that.
08:41I know, but Gary O'Neill was sprinting around with the team on fitness drills, fitness drills,
08:47which no player wants to do. No. It's not enjoyable. No. They know they have to do it.
08:51They go out there and I'll tell you what, does it make it easier? Does it set an example? Having
08:55your gaffer running those drills with you? I think it does. And we're still in great shape,
09:00by the way. He's in good shape. He is in good shape. And yeah, look, I mean, he's not just
09:05keeping up. He's giving them a run for their money. And I'll tell you what, and this is no
09:08disrespect to Gary O'Neill, but there's some players there that have got 20 years on Gary
09:11and they're not going to want to see him in front. They're going to want to see him behind.
09:15So it sets a great precedent. It sets a great example. You go out there, you put the effort in.
09:20Yeah, I'll tell you what, it was hard as well. And the players are going to see that. I think,
09:24right, I need to put my efforts here. I like that. It's hands on. I really like it.
09:27And motivationally. Absolutely.
09:29For the players and for the staff. And you know, it's great that he gets involved and it's just
09:33an example to set for the players, isn't it? About not only having your gaffer there,
09:37but keeping yourself in that kind of shape throughout. You know, you want to be able
09:40to compete. You want to be able to get on the training field. Like it were one short,
09:43well, I can still play. I can still sit in the middle of the park. I'm sure Gary can quite
09:46easily for a little bit of time. So yeah, it's fantastic. And like you say, just this camaraderie
09:51around the training camp massively helps to the cause.
09:53Absolutely. A piece on the Prestonside website this morning. If you haven't read it, why not?
10:00And yeah, looking at the, I suppose, a contrast really in last summer to this summer. And this
10:04is another perfect example of it. I wish I'd known in time to put it in the piece that Gary
10:09was going to do that because it's a perfect example.
10:12We've got a few more weeks. I'm sure he might pop in for another training session again.
10:15Exactly. Again, a perfect example of just a different atmosphere around the team. There
10:20is a real togetherness, a real strong culture and atmosphere there. And it bodes well going
10:26into the season. They've got fresh faces there. They're not under any pressure to sell players
10:29as it stands and it's always been a good place.
10:32You mentioned fresh faces and one of those fresh faces, an exclusive sit down with one today.
10:38Mr. Rodrigo Gomez.
10:40Gomez.
10:40Yes. There'll be plenty to come on the podcast as well as in, I know, there you go,
10:46as well as in the written word coming up in the next few days. And so, lovely lad,
10:51really, really nice lad. He'd definitely get in there with his English. And fair play to him
10:55because he's working really hard on that. And really lovely young man. Great to chat to. Good
10:59insight into why Wolves and why he came to the club and what fans can expect from him.
11:05So, you'll be able to read and hear some of it pretty soon.
11:09Fair play for a 21-year-old to come and just turn 21, by the way.
11:13Just turn 21, yes, on the 7th of November.
11:14Come to a brand new country, brand new club and sit down within the first week of pre-season
11:20training with two journalists and sit down for 25, 30 minutes. You can't knock that. And speaking
11:26really good English, those are the kind of characters that you root for in a season,
11:30you know. Look, ability-wise, obviously, he's second to none and we hope he hits the ground
11:34running. But at the same time, you can't help but root for those kind of people.
11:37Yes, just a nice chap, you know what I mean? He's smiling. He just wants to be there happy
11:42and that goes a long way for a football club, particularly what the kind of players and the
11:46culture Wolves want to bring in and create. So, hats off to him. I'm looking forward to
11:52putting that out there.
11:53Video done for today. Plenty more online at expressandstyle.com and of course,
11:56you've got your £2 subscription to get on to plus that 6p a day. We shall see you tomorrow.