Edwards could save Wolves job by selling flop who’s “doing nothing”
Rob Edwards picked up his first point in charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.
Ladislav Krejčí’s equaliser just before the break was enough to secure just a third Premier League point of the campaign for the Old Gold, who have entered 2026 without a single win under their belt.
Wolves are 15 points away from safety, with half of the season left to play, and it looks increasingly likely that they will be playing Championship football next season.
Why Rob Edwards' future at Wolves is in doubt
The Premier League strugglers appointed Edwards to replace Vitor Pereira in November, and the English tactician lost his first seven games in charge before the draw with United this week.
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Reporter Graeme Bailey recently claimed that the board have considered parting ways with the former Middlesbrough boss already, and have had contact with potential replacements.
The journalist named Hearts boss Derek McInnes, Cardiff manager Brian Barry-Murphy, and former Wolves tactician Gary O’Neill as three managers who are of interest to the club, as they weigh up what to do with Edwards.
No decision on his future appears to be imminent, though, particularly after Tuesday night’s result, and that means that the Englishman still has time to turn things around and prove that he is the right man for the job in the long haul.
One of the ways in which Edwards could look to save his job at the Molineux stadium could be to ruthlessly sell one of the team’s current high-profile assets.
The Wolves star who Edwards must sell in January
TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crooks claims that Crystal Palace and West Ham United are both interested in a deal to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves this month.
This comes just months after the Old Gold rejected a £50m offer from Newcastle United in the summer, as they were adamant that they wanted to keep hold of their star forward.
That offer and subsequent rejection, though, came after the Norway international plundered an eye-catching 14 goals from 10.27 xG in 37 Premier League matches during his debut season in the division, per Sofascore.
The 25-year-old star’s form has dropped off a cliff in the current campaign, with just one Premier League goal to his name so far, and it may be the right time for the Old Gold to cash in on him.
Pundit Darren Bent claimed last month that Strand Larsen is “doing absolutely nothing” up front and that he is getting bullied by defenders, and it is hard to argue with that assessment.
The Norwegian flop has lost a staggering 73% of his ground duels, scored no non-penalty goals, and is yet to create a ‘big chance’ or assist a goal for his teammates, per Sofascore, which shows that he has struggled in and out of possession for Wolves.
Strand Larsen (Premier League)
24/25
25/26
Appearances
35
17
xG
10.27
2.68
Goals
14
1
Minutes per goal
186
1,263
Big chances created
6
0
Assists
4
0
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Strand Larsen has not been anywhere near as effective as he was in his first season in England, which may leave the club regretting the fact that they did not cash in when £50m was offered by Newcastle.
Edwards now must convince the board to sell the striker this month, amid interest from Palace and Newcastle, because it could provide him with funds to bring in his own players.
Strand Larsen was reportedly booed by some of his own supporters when he came off the bench against Manchester United, which speaks to the relationship that he has with the fanbase at the moment.
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Therefore, selling a player who appears to have lost goodwill with a section of the fanbase could buy some time for Edwards, instead of allowing the toxicity to build and build.
On top of that, the English boss could urge the board to use any funds from a sale of Strand Larsen to invest in new players with the Championship in mind.
If Edwards, given the dire situation Wolves are in, can successfully build a narrative with the fanbase that he is making signings and building towards an instant return to the Premier League next season, it may take some of the pressure off short-term results in the top-flight, saving his job in the process.
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He’s been in superb form this calendar year.
ByEmilio Galantini
Selling Strand Larsen to Palace or West Ham is the first step towards building that narrative around building for the future, though, which is why that is the first move that should be made.