Matt Hobbs: Julen Lopetegui was key in Wolves' transfer window

The club made six additions last month with a focus on experience and leadership, as they look to move away from relegation trouble.

It was Hobbs’ first transfer window in his new role and he believes Lopetegui’s personal touch helped Wolves get those deals over the line.

He said: “I think they were really important for us because we were very sure on the type of individuals that we wanted to bring in, the right personalities.

“Julen wouldn’t sign a player he’s not spoken to, he talks a lot about the feel for a player, and if I’m the player, it’s really important also because they want to feel they’re coming to a club, especially from halfway around the world, that they believe the manager really wants them there.

“I think it’s for both sides, for us to get a feel for the player and for the player to feel like the club really want them, it works well for both. So far, the players have come in and settled, felt important and part of it, and that’s enabled them to develop and find their role quickly within the squad.”

Hobbs was also keen to heap praise on Lopetegui and his coaching staff for the way they have integrated into the club – with the sporting director insisting it ‘makes everyone buy into what they want’.

He added: “They love the area and we spend a huge amount of time here (at Compton Park). We’re here at seven o’clock in the morning and we don’t leave until eight, nine o’clock at night, so you grow a real fondness for people.

“They are good people, good men, that make people want to work hard for them because of the type of people they are. It’s not coming in through fear or anything like that, but you see their work ethic and you want to match that.

“The way they’ve been so collaborative, across all the departments, whether it’s the analysis, the recruitment, the medical, the academy – they care. They really care and they’ve really cared quickly, and that makes everyone buy into what they want, and you go that extra yard for them because of the people they are.”

Since Hobbs has come into the role, he has actively tried to improve the communication with the fan base.

It is understood that Hobbs and Lopetegui have also struck up a close working relationship, which helped the club work quickly to act in the transfer market.

Hobbs said: “We’ve had a period where we’ve had a new manager come in, the World Cup break, a mini pre-season while we waited for our players to come back from the World Cup, so I think it’s been a really testing time, but maybe a really advantageous time as well, because we’ve had that time for the manager to work with the players and understand what we needed. Leading into the transfer window we had plenty of time to meet, especially when we were in Marbella.

“I feel I’ve been lucky to come in at that time and start my role with a new manager, because we’ve had time to really evaluate who we are as a football club, what we want our team to look like and what we think our fans want our team to look like. We’ve been able to take our time with that before heading into the new window.”