MX23RW : Thursday, January 31 14:10:11

Players must keep 'distance' from transfer rumours, says Wolves boss Nuno

Players must keep 'distance' from transfer rumours, says Wolves boss Nuno
© Reuters
West Ham travel to Wolves in the Premier League on Tuesday with Arnautovic expected to return.

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo insists he would expect his players to ignore transfer speculation after Marko Arnautovic's saga at West Ham.

The Hammers forward signed a new deal on Saturday after interest from a Chinese club and is expected to return to Manuel Pellegrini's squad at Molineux on Tuesday.

The length of the deal has not been announced but Arnautovic could have earned £41million over four years had he moved to China.

Nuno did not refer to Arnautovic by name but would want any of his squad to keep their focus.

"You have to distance yourself to what is going on around you and do it as a group, sticking to our ethic of working hard," he said.

"It's simple – work, focus. What is important is what you do in the training session, what you do during the competition.

"When a manager doesn't have all the players, something is missing.

"Every team, when all the players are available, it's easier. They have quality players all over the pitch. Knowing what we want to do requires a lot of effort."

Wolves have conceded eight goals in their last three games and almost went out of the FA Cup at Shrewsbury on Saturday.

They recovered from 2-0 down with 15 minutes left to draw 2-2 and force a replay.

He said: "It's always our focus, our defensive organisation is the starting point for everything. We have to improve, we have to be solid, more compact and there's a chance to put things right.

"There are lots of things to work on, we have been working on that and we expect to not repeat the same mistakes.

"It's a new challenge against a tough team. They've had bad moments but have grown out of them and both teams are ready to compete. They have a good manager and quality players."

Wolves have no fresh injury worries but defender Willy Boly serves the final game of his three-match ban.

Meanwhile, Danny Batth is expected to join Stoke in the next 24 hours after undergoing a medical at the Sky Bet Championship side.

The defender has spent the first half of the season on loan at Middlesbrough but will join Stoke on a permanent deal.

Batth has made 212 appearances for Wolves since coming through the ranks at Molineux and captained the side when they won the Championship title last season.


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Jonny Castro in action for Wolves on January 2, 2019
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool24194155144161
2Manchester CityMan City24182463194456
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs24180650242654
4Arsenal24145550331747
5Chelsea24145540231747
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd24136548351345
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2410593031-135
8Everton249693533233
9Watford249693334-133
10Bournemouth24103113742-533
11Leicester CityLeicester2495103030032
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham2494113037-731
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2475122736-926
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2466122132-1124
15Crystal Palace2465132433-923
16Southampton2458112641-1523
17Burnley2465132545-2023
18Cardiff CityCardiff2454152046-2619
19Fulham2445152553-2817
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2425171341-2811

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