Pre-season training | Week two round-up

13th July 2024

Wolves’ preparations for the 2024/25 Premier League season have been hotting up – literally – in the second week of pre-season as the squad headed to Marbella for a warm weather training camp.

Training in the scorching heat of southern Spain has provided Gary O’Neil’s men with the conditions they need to get ready for the new campaign, as the squad builds stronger relationships on and off the pitch.

Almost all of the squad have now returned for pre-season training – with the exception of those who have been with their national teams recently – and wolves.co.uk has rounded up everything that has been going on around Compton Park and in Marbella during the second week of pre-season.

Saturday 6th July

Although O’Neil’s squad has been getting bigger with the gradual return of Wolves’ first-team stars during the weekend, there was one member of the team who departed on Saturday, as Maximilian Kilman’s move to West Ham United was confirmed.

The defender heads to the London Stadium where he will reunite with former Old Gold gaffer Julen Lopetegui, ending a six-year spell at Molineux which has seen Kilman rise from a non-league prospect to a Premier League captain.

Although left with a bittersweet feeling having played a key role in bringing Kilman to the club from Maidenhead United, sporting director Matt Hobbs feels the deal works for all parties.

#Summer2024

Sunday 7th July

More first-team players returned to Compton Park on Sunday as summer signings Pedro Lima and Jorgen Strand Larsen met their new teammates for the first time, having been given a few extra days off after signing the previous Monday.

They were also joined by the players who were on international duty earlier in June, with Mario Lemina, Matt Doherty, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hee Chan Hwang among those who joined back up with the squad during the weekend.

Monday 8th July

After completing their medical testing on Sunday, the returning players got down to work on the training pitches for the first time this season, as O’Neil and his coaches put the players through their paces at Compton.

The session gave the head coach a chance to see what Lima and Strand Larsen are going to offer his team for the first time, while Daniel Podence also returned to the squad having spent last season on loan at Olympiacos.

Tuesday 9th July

It was an early start for the squad on Tuesday as they headed off to XLR Birmingham for their flight to Marbella, with the 29-man squad being made up of first-team players, returning loanees and youngsters.

Jose Sa, Nelson Semedo, Pedro Neto, Joao Gomes and Dexter Lembikisa were among the players not to travel to Spain following their Euro 2024 and Copa America exploits, while Boubacar Traore and Enso Gonzalez were also absent as they prepare to represent Mali and Paraguay respectively in this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

During their first day in Marbella, the Old Gold squad settled into their new base ahead of a busy schedule throughout the coming week, before ending the evening by sitting down to watch Spain’s Euro 2024 semi-final victory over France – much to the pleasure of Hugo Bueno and Pablo Sarabia.

Wednesday 10th July

The first full day out in Marbella saw O’Neil’s side get down to work with double training sessions out on the grass as the heat of the Spanish sun beamed down on them.

After getting back into the swing of things in Compton earlier in the week, the group stepped up their preparations on day one of their training camp but had to be sure to take in lots of fluids and breaks in the shade as a way to deal with the high temperatures.

Wednesday also saw the first Wolves Express of the week released, with Craig Dawson and Shaun Derry joining the podcast out in Marbella to discuss the first few days back and how the training camp had been going so far.

While the evening ended with further celebrations from the squad – as well as the backroom staff – as the group joined together to watch England secure their place in the Euro 2024 final.

Thursday 11th July

While the rain was pouring down at Compton on Thursday, out in Spain the Wolves team were experiencing more scorching temperatures. This led to the training schedule to change slightly, as the squad avoided the hottest points of the day.

After a morning of training on the pitches at the Marbella Football Centre, where the attackers and defenders were separated into groups for specific positional work, the players then spent the afternoon in the gym.

Fresh from representing Algeria over the summer, Rayan Ait-Nouri spoke to wolves.co.uk about what the warmer climate is offering the Old Gold camp.

Friday 12th July

The second week of pre-season came to an end of Friday with the team, continuing to ramp up their preparations for the new Premier League campaign.

Following an 11v11 training match, the players went head-to-head in a penalty shootout to decide the winner, with Dan Bentley being the hero for his team with two saves to deny Tawanda Chirewa and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

The second Wolves Express of the week featured interviews with several of O’Neil’s squad out in Marbella as Toti, Ait-Nouri, Bentley and Mario Lemina all gave their thoughts on pre-season and gave an insight into the spirit inside the camp - with a lot of emphasis on how difficult it has been for the players to carry out double sessions in the scorching heat.

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“I love being here. The family that we are building, all the club, it’s been fantastic for me, so I’m very happy.”
Pedro Neto