Five Wolves players with something to prove under Bruno Lage

Pre-season training begins next Monday, the first friendly takes place at Crewe on July 17, and then the Premier League campaign gets going at Leicester on August 14.

And here, we look at five players who will be particularly keen to catch the Portuguese’s eye going into a new era at Molineux.

John Ruddy

Credit to the 34-year-old, he has made no secret of his desire to get more minutes under his belt next season.

Ruddy will likely have an early opportunity to display his quality at Crewe, too.

Given Rui Patricio’s recent involvement with Portugal at the Euros, the ex-Norwich man looks set to be at the forefront during the early stages of pre-season.

Ruddy feels he still has a lot to offer, and with Patricio heavily linked to Roma, too, there could be an opening for him to exploit.

It is hard to see him being Wolves’ out-and-out No.1 again, of course, but he will be keen to show he has a lot left in the tank and is ready when needed.

Max Kilman

Someone who has, by and large, been solid whenever called upon is Kilman.

Plucked from non-league Maidenhead, the 24-year-old has looked comfortable in the Premier League.

He is efficient with the ball at his feet, has developed physically and for a spell last autumn was one of Wolves’ most consistent performers.

However, he found game time hard to come by in the final months of Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign – making just six starts during the second half of the season – and will be eager to go again.

Kilman has a couple of years of proper senior football under his belt and might have the confidence to take on a more prominent role under Lage.

Fernando Marcal

Marcal’s first season in old gold went horribly. He suffered injury after injury and, as a result, only made 13 appearances in the Premier League.

The most frustrating thing about it all was when the Brazilian was fit, he looked very accomplished.

He is a no-nonsense, tough-tackling full-back who contributes going forward without being exposed too much.

Marcal has a history of muscle problems, and given how things have gone so far, you would be surprised to see him go injury-free next term.

But if he stays fit for a decent amount of time, at least, he could have a role to play.

Morgan Gibbs-White

The signs from Gibbs-White towards the end of last season were positive.

Having had a spell on loan at Swansea, he seemed to return with more maturity. In those final few games of the campaign, too, he played pretty well.

Nuno always had a soft spot for Gibbs-White, and that was reciprocated, so it will be interesting to see how he fits in under the Lage regime.

And as a local lad who rose through the academy ranks, it would be lovely to see him truly fulfil his potential in gold and black.

A couple of encouraging displays early on under Lage would do him the world of good.

Daniel Podence

For a decent chunk of last season, Podence was in form – combining with Pedro Neto to great effect. He is a tricky dribbler who can weave his way through defences, but he very much tailed off in the latter stages of 20/21.

Having been dealt a couple of injury blows, the Portuguese playmaker never looked right in the final few months.

Podence tended to get frustrated and playing as No.10 rather than on the wing, you could argue he was not in his best

position. Under Lage, though, he has the potential to be a key player. He has had the summer to refresh, so, fingers crossed, he steps up.