E&S review of the year: July to December - All change at Wolves as Aston Villa hunt Premier League leaders

July

Wolves sold Nathan Collins to Brentford in a deal worth up to £23million with sporting director Matt Hobbs saying it was a deal which “worked for both parties”.

Andy Murray was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round after losing 3-2 in a five-set thriller to Stefanos Tsitsipas, Cameron Norrie was also knocked out in the second round after losing to Chris Eubanks.

The third Ashes Test ended in victory for England as they made the series 2-1 with two matches to play.

Villa completed the signing of Spanish defender Pau Torres from Villarreal for a fee reported to be in the region of £35million.

Wolverhampton’s Henry Searle made history at Wimbledon as he became the first British boys’ singles champion in more than 60 years – he beat Yaroslav Demin 6-4 6-4 on Court One.

In the men’s singles, Novak Djokovic was dethroned after being beaten in the final by Carlos Alcaraz.

Wolves re-signed defender Matt Doherty on a three-year deal on a free transfer after he left for Tottenham in 2020 for £15 million.

Walsall completed the signing of goalkeeper Jackson Smith, while Villa’s impressive summer recruitment continued signing Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen for £51.9million – a club record fee.

Raul Jimenez’s five-year stay at Wolves ended as the striker departed for Fulham with the teams agreeing on a deal worth £5.5million.

In golf, Brian Harman won his first major title at the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool – he ended 13 under par with a six-shot lead over John Rahm, Jason Day, Sepp Straka and Tom Kim.

Albion finally signed their first player of the summer window when Jeremy Sarmiento joined on a season-long loan deal from Brighton – he received a glowing reference from Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi.

Wolves let academy product Ryan Giles join Premier League rivals Luton Town for £5million.

August

After weeks of heightened speculation, Julen Lopetegui finally departed Wolves on August 8, just three days before the start of the new Premier League season.

A club statement confirmed there had been “differences of opinion on certain issues” which had promoted an “amicable” parting of ways.

Just one day later, former Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil was appointed Wolves’ new head coach.

It wasn’t the only big story of the month at Molineux, with Matheus Nunes successfully pushing through a move to Manchester City worth around £53million. City midfielder Tommy Doyle arrived at Wolves in the other direction with Santiago Bueno and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde also heading through the doors in a hectic end to the transfer window. On the pitch, O’Neil’s men followed a controversial 1-0 opening night defeat at Manchester United with a 4-1 home loss to Brighton, before rebounding to win 1-0 at Everton thanks to Sasa Kalajdzic’s first Wolves goal.

Villa’s campaign got off to a nightmare start as they were beaten 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening day and lost Tyrone Mings to a serious knee injury.

It was the second major injury to hit Unai Emery’s squad in a matter of days with Emi Buendia also sidelined for the season.

But Villa would end the month in better spirits after wins over Everton and Burnley and an 8-0 aggregate thumping of Hibernian to qualify for the Europa Conference League group stages.

Nicolo Zaniolo and Clement Lenglet became their final signings of the transfer window, both on loan, while academy products Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsey and Jaden Philogene were sold for a combined £37m.

Albion began their season with defeat at Blackburn but rebounded with home wins over Swansea and Middlesbrough, either side of a draw at Leeds.

Carlos Corberan had begun the month with the signing of striker Josh Maja from Bordeaux, though the most significant news for the head coach was the absence of any major departures, as the Baggies largely kept their squad intact.

Walsall began their third straight season under a new manager but won just one of Mat Sadler’s first seven matches in charge.

Shrewsbury Town, under former Saddlers boss Matt Taylor, won three of their first five League One fixtures and completed the signings of Max Mata and Mal Benning.

There was World Cup heartbreak for two Midlands-based sporting aces. Villa’s Rachel Daly was part of the England team edged out by Spain in the final of the Women’s Football World Cup, while Wolverhampton netball star Laura Malcolm had to settle for silver after England were beaten by Australia.

Wolves speedway confirmed their place in the Premiership play-offs with a dominant win over Sheffield Tigers at Monmore.

September

September began with the end of the summer transfer window, with plenty of clubs doing business.

Wolves made the late signing of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde. They did, however, miss out on signing a striker after moves for Che Adams and Boulaye Dia did not come off.

Albion signed Spanish defender Pipa, while Villa brought in Clement Lenglet and Walsall signed Harvey Griffiths and David Okagbue, with Griffiths coming in on loan from Wolves.

It was also a busy day for Shrewsbury, who brought in Brandon Fleming and Ryan Finnigan, while youngster Travis Hernes left for Newcastle.

Despite the transfer window closing in England, it was still open in Greece the following week and Wolves forward Daniel Podence returned to Olympicacos on loan. He did so after extending his Wolves contract until 2025. Villa attacker Philippe Coutinho also left on loan for Qatari side Al-Duhail.

The world’s media and boxing fans were watching on when Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou had their launch press conference in front of the cameras for their upcoming bout.

Stourbridge-born star Jude Bellingham showed his quality as England beat Scotland 3-1 at Hampden Park.

Walsall were in for a shock when summer signing Chris Hussey retired from professional football at the age of 36.

Wolves also had a difficult weekend when they relinquished a lead at home to Liverpool, to leave Molineux with nothing.

In boxing, Wolverhampton fighter Jermaine Osbourne-Edwards beat Naeem Ali, with his eyes now on a title shot.

Albion were dealt a blow when new signing Josh Maja picked up an injury and was ruled out for eight weeks.

In a sit-down exclusive two-part interview with the Express & Star, Wolves striker Fabio Silva lifted the lid on how close he was to leaving Wolves in the summer and how difficult he found his time at the club under Bruno Lage. Meanwhile, Villa crashed to a Europa Conference League defeat to Legia Warsaw.

England Women followed up the men’s success with a 2-1 win over Scotland in the Nations League.

Back from the international break, Wolves drew 1-1 with Luton after a controversial VAR decision denied them all three points. New signing Bellegarde was also sent-off.

It then got worse for Wolves when they crashed out of the Carabao Cup to Championship side Ipswich, despite going 2-0 up.

Regardless of the difficulties on the field, Jose Sa signed a new four-year contract at Wolves.

October

October started memorably from a European perspective as Luke Donald’s side retained the Ryder Cup trophy after a tense finale saw them hold off the United States’ spirited comeback.

Albion winger Grady Diangana earned a first senior international call from DR Congo, the nation of his birth, and is set to play in January’s African Cup of Nations.

The start of England’s Cricket World Cup defence began with an awful nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

It was a derby night to forget for Albion, who lost 2-1 at Blues, while Wolves and Villa shared a 1-1 draw at Molineux.

Blues, under new ownership, sensationally sacked John Eustace shortly after and appointed Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney, who had been working in the US.

Bilston super heavyweight Delicious Orie followed his idol Anthony Joshua by being named amateur boxer of the year.

Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo and Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali were questioned by authorities in Italy over alleged illegal betting. The latter was later banned.

Former Albion and Walsall midfielder Craig Shakespeare was diagnosed with cancer and is receiving treatment.

England’s Cricket World Cup went from bad to worse with a shock defeat against Afghanistan, while England’s rugby union side made the World Cup semi-final after a thrilling win over Fiji set up a South Africa showdown.

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane starred as England secured their passage to Euro 2024 with a 3-1 victory over Italy.

The football world mourned following the death of Manchester United and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton, aged 86. The same weekend saw England lose 16-15 to eventual champions South Africa in the World Cup semi-final. In cricket, it was a harrowing fifth defeat from six World Cup games for England in India.

Wolves speedway revved for one last time at Monmore Green in a special Wolves v Wolves At Heart fixture on an emotional night with Peter Karlsson, Ronnie Correy, Adam Skornicki and Jacob Thorssell in attendance.

November

There was further sad sporting news when legendary former England, Tottenham and Barcelona manager Terry Venables passed away aged 80.

Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs was charged by the FA for comments made towards Anthony Taylor, who was demoted to the Championship, after giving a controversial penalty against Wolves in their 2-2 draw with Newcastle in October.

England’s miserable Cricket World Cup defence was ended when Australia knocked the holders out.

Jude Bellingham won the 2023 Golden Boy Award.

Scotland booked their place at Euro 2024 with a 3-3 draw against Norway, while England concluded qualifying with a 1-1 draw against North Macedonia.

Olympic gold medalist Joe Clark, of Stafford & Stone Canoe Club, was named in the Team GB squad for Paris 2024 after previously being snubbed for Tokyo 2020.

Australia defeated India in the final to win the Cricket World Cup, and Luke Humphries won the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

Boldmere St Michaels distanced themselves from comments made by former Wolves midfielder and junior coach Karl Henry over the standard of grassroots referees.

Supporters’ trusts of both Wolves and Chelsea slammed the Premier League for “total disrespect” for arranging their fixture on Christmas Eve.

Wolves produced an extraordinary stoppage-time comeback to beat Tottenham, but suffered more VAR controversy in defeats at Sheffield United and Fulham.

At the end of the month, Newcastle were denied a famous victory over PSG courtesy of Kylian Mbappe’s controversial 98th-minute penalty, before Galatasaray left Manchester United on the verge of Champions League elimination with a 3-3 draw.

December

Villa produced one of the greatest ever Premier League performances to defeat champions Manchester City and underline their own title credentials.

A Leon Bailey goal earned Unai Emery’s men a 1-0 win, though their dominance was greater than the scoreline suggested as they restricted Pep Guardiola’s team to just two shots on goal.

When Villa followed it up by beating Arsenal three days later it capped an incredible week, though the month ended in some frustration as they missed the chance to go top of the Premier League for the first time since 2011 after being held to a home draw by Sheffield United and then blew a two-goal lead to lose at Manchester United.

City, inconsistent in the league, at least had the consolation of being crowned World Club Cup champions after beating Fluminese in Saudi Arabia.

Wolves finished the month strongly by beating Chelsea and Brentford either side of Christmas to pull into mid-table.

The wins followed mixed results in earlier weeks, with a home win over Burnley falling between away defeats at Arsenal and West Ham. There was significant news off the pitch with top scorer Hwang Hee-chan agreeing a new contract through to 2028.

Albion maintained a position in the top six of the Championship despite an inconsistent month which began with back-to-back defeats against Leicester and Sunderland. Wins over Rotherham and Norwich lifted the mood, though the club’s injury curse continued with both Josh Maja and Matt Phillips ruled out for extended periods.

Walsall snapped a run of five matches without a win by beating Notts County to ease the pressure on head coach Mat Sadler. The victory was the first of three in a week for the Saddlers and followed a video address to supporters from co-chairman Ben Boycott promising investment ahead of the January transfer window.

Wolverhampton boxer Ben Whittaker continued the perfect start to his pro career with a fourth-round stoppage win over Stiven Dredhaj.