COMMENT: Wolves takeover rumours - Treat Kenny Jackett with the respect he deserves

For Wolves supporters, starved of meaningful top-flight success for 36 years, it sounds too good to be true doesn't it?

Could the club be about to hit the big time, backed by a bottomless pit of money? Widespread reports in Spain suggest so...writes Wolves reporter Tim Spiers.

But while it's temping for fans to start salivating at the thought of their club suddenly becoming one of the richest in world football (Robin Li is listed as the 90th richest man in the world with a fortune of £8.5bn – that's £2.5bn more than Roman Abramovich) we should proceed with an air of caution for now.

Any prospective takeover certainly hasn't been finalised yet. Indeed, at Compton Park yesterday it was very much business as usual with Kenny Jackett presiding over first-team training and speaking of his optimism at the season ahead.

Despite the feverish speculation, Jackett perhaps surprisingly still went ahead with a pre-arranged interview with the Express & Star yesterday afternoon.

Jackett was his usual courteous self, answering questions with focus and comprehension, talking of how well the first week of pre-season training had gone and of making a positive start to the season.

And when the subject matter turned to the fact he may be out of a job soon, he didn't shirk a single question, his demeanour unaffected.

"I certainly hope it's not the case," he said, on the prospect of a new owner hiring his own man in the managerial hot seat.

Jackett is a proud, dignified man and, until told otherwise, there is no question he will carry on with the job he is paid to do with the utmost professionalism.

And if there is substance to the takeover rumours, this is no way to treat him, or indeed any other manager.

The leak to the Spanish press won't have come from those in-the-know at Molineux.

It has clearly come from those close to Lopetegui, who has also been linked with the Nottingham Forest and Spain jobs in the past few days.

Indeed, no other British media outlet has yet run a single story on the rumours. Nor any in China.

But the fact this story is out there will irk the Wolves hierarchy. Notoriously private and keen to keep a lid on any speculation, this isn't how they like to do business.

Their wishy-washy statement on Wednesday evening, neither confirming nor denying the Li/Lopetegui links, did little to clarify the situation.

And if there is fire behind this smoke then Wolves need to act sooner rather than later to clarify the position of their head coach.

Takeover deals, as we saw recently with Villa, can take weeks to be officially ratified and completed.

It was an open secret that Roberto Di Matteo was to take charge at Villa Park once Dr Tony Xia's takeover was finalised. But the difference between him and Lopetegui is that there isn't currently a vacant job at Wolves.

So a situation where Jackett continues to lead his squad through pre-season, with the prospect of a takeover and a new manager in the background for weeks on end, is wholly undesirable. Another reason why time is of the essence is transfer deals.

Wolves have, perhaps tellingly, made next-to-no splashes in the market so far, bringing in only keeper Andy Lonergan, who is expected to be Carl Ikeme's back-up.

That has to change much sooner rather than later, whoever is in charge.

If the supposed talks becomes a reality, if Wolves aren't being used as pawns in any power struggles (with Lopetegui looking for work and Li believed to be about to complete a £600m takeover of AC Milan no less, there is a small alarm bell there) then there are very exciting times ahead at Molineux.

But, primarily for now, clarification is needed in a timely fashion.