Pre-season training | Week one round-up

12th July 2025

This week saw the start of 2025/26 pre-season training, as the first batch of Vitor Pereira’s squad returned to Compton Park.

Preparations for the Premier League opener against Manchester City at Molineux are beginning to take shape and with each passing day will ramp up as Pereira undertakes his first pre-season to get his squad ready for the new campaign.

With those players who weren’t involved in international football during the summer back in at the start of the week, wolves.co.uk has rounded up everything that has been going on around Compton Park as well as the warm weather training camp in Portugal during the first five days of pre-season.

Monday 7th July

Although Sasa Kalajdzic and Yerson Mosquera were back at Compton Park earlier than their teammates as they continue to recover from their long-term injuries, this week signalled the official start to pre-season.

The first group of players who hadn’t represented their countries on the international stage last month – including new signing Fer Lopez – were back into work at the training ground on Monday morning as they reunited following their summer break.

The squad underwent vigorous testing in the treatment room and put through their paces in the gym ahead of lunch, before taking to the pitch for the first time since May.

Pereira and his coaching staff, including new additions Filipe Almeida and Bruno Moura, were able to see just where the players were at on their first day back.

#Summer2025

Tuesday 8th July

Tuesday followed a very similar schedule as Monday, with further testing being carried out on the returning group.

Among those back in at the start of the week were Brazilian duo Joao Gomes and Andre, Toti, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi. Some of the returning loanees were also welcomed back into the fold, such as Ki-Jana Hoever and Tawanda Chirewa.

A return to Compton this week and the coverage across Wolves’ social media channels also gave supporters a first glimpse of the players in the brand new SUDU training wear.

This season’s offering is a navy and red number, while the coaches are in a more traditional gold and black.

Wednesday 9th July

With pre-season testing completed on the first two days back, it was a shorter day for the players on Wednesday, with just a single session on the grass in the morning.

Pereira had a watchful eye over proceedings as the intensity of the session was taken up a notch now the players had got used to being back into the swing of things.

One player who didn’t return to Compton this week as he was on his way to Scotland to agree a loan move with Rangers was defender Nasser Djiga – who became the second player to leave on loan this summer after Tommy Doyle.

Djiga’s move was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon, with the season-long loan aiming to give the Burkina Faso international plenty of experience in the British game after he featured just six times for Wolves following his signing in January.

Thursday 5th July

Pereira has had several promising young players from the academy train with the first-team during the opening few days of pre-season, but having officially made the step up to the senior squad this season, Mateus Mane put pen to paper on a new contract this week.

After impressing in training in the later months of 2024/25, Mane made his Premier League debut at home to Brighton & Hove Albion in May, and the 17-year-old forward has committed his future to the Old Gold.

Following three days at Compton, Thursday also started at the training ground for Pereira and his squad, before they got on a plan and jetted off to Portugal for a 10-day warm weather training camp.

However, before they boarded the flight for the Algarve, the players and coaching staff took a visit to Molineux to see the emotional tributes laid by supporters towards former Wolves forward Diogo Jota who tragically lost his life seven days previously, while also paying their own respects to the Portuguese.

Friday 6th July

Having arrived at their pre-season base camp on Thursday evening, Friday morning offered the squad a chance to acclimatise to the conditions in the south of Portugal.

Although many of them would not have needed it having spent four days roasting in the Wolverhampton sun back at Compton.

The playing squad has also grown in size in Portugal from 20 to 28, as eight of the players who were on international duty earlier this summer joined up with the team.

This group included Emmanuel Agbadou, Santi Bueno, Matt Doherty, Hee Chan Hwang, Pedro Lima, Jose Sa and Jorgen Strand Larsen, as well as the returning Fabio Silva, who spent last season out on loan in La Liga with Las Palmas.

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“Our supporters, they are fantastic. I’m very proud of them, very proud of my team, proud of our work, proud of our club, all the staff. We know we can build in the future.”

Vitor Pereira