Wolves are set to offer Gary O’Neil a bumper new contract as reward for impressive debut season – with the club just four points off a European spot and in the FA Cup quarter-finals

Gary O’Neil will be offered a new contract by Wolves including a significant pay rise after a hugely impressive first season in charge.

The former Bournemouth boss took the reins less than a week before the start of the season, and with nearly £150million worth of talent sold by the end of August. His initial brief was simply to keep Wolves in the Premier League against a backdrop of financial uncertainty.

Yet O’Neil has performed so well that Wolves have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe next season. They are 10th in the table, four points adrift of West Ham in seventh, and will reach the FA Cup semi-finals if they beat Championship club Coventry at Molineux next Saturday.

‘Part of the conversation will be the plan for the club and that’s where you have to have the honest conversations about what it looks like going forward. That is an inevitable situation we find ourselves in this summer, for sure.’

Gary O’Neil is set to be offered a new contract at Wolves are enjoying an impressive first campaign at the club

Wolves are 10th in the table with aspirations of achieving European qualification. They have also progressed to the FA Cup quarter-finals

Though Hobbs denies Wolves will be forced to sell players in the summer, the Premier League’s spending rules mean such decisions must be weighed carefully.

Pedro Neto’s sparkling form this season means he will have suitors at the end of the season, with the wide attacker valued at about £60m. 

Max Kilman, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Joao Gomes and Matheus Cunha – even though the latter is injured – are among those who also have admirers among Wolves’ rivals.

Wolves owner Guo Guangchang during the Premier League match at Molineux last month

Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs said the club don’t want to sell more than two starters this summer

Hobbs added: ‘We don’t want to sell more than two starters. But if big clubs come I’ve never been the person to stand in someone’s way as long as we can reinvest in the right way to move forward. 

‘We showed with other players leaving last year that we’re able to move forward with three or four starters going. We’re always looking to improve and we have the ability to turn down big offers, but every player has their number as well.’