Express & Star

Wolves set for summer pre-season trip to South Korea

Wolves are set to fly out to South Korea for their pre-season trip this summer, the Express & Star understands.

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Talks are already well under way for Wolves to travel to South Korea in July, which will mark their first return to Asia since their trip to China in 2019, where Wolves beat Manchester City on penalties to lift the Asia Trophy.

Wolves are yet to sign the contract for the South Korea trip, but are closing in on the deal, which is expected to see Wolves compete in friendlies against other elite European teams as Julen Lopetegui prepares his side for the 2023/24 season.

The trip will also give Wolves another opportunity to widen their worldwide reach, as they continue to embark on marketing missions to build the club’s brand.

Since Chinese conglomerate Fosun bought Wolves in 2016, they have made conscious efforts to improve the club’s worldwide standing across several different markets, with Asia being a key focus.

This planned trip in the summer will aid those efforts, with Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan leading the way in their marketing plans for South Korea.

Wolves are also hoping to go on another separate warm weather training camp to Europe earlier in July before they travel to Asia.

The club will be hopeful of completing the deal in the coming weeks, after suffering bad luck with their planned trip to America last summer.

Wolves had signed up to compete in the four-team Ohio Cup before the tournament was cancelled in mid-May.

The club then persevered with planning a trip to America but were unable to find viable friendly replacements and were forced to scrap the trip.

Wolves then had to make late arrangements to travel to Europe, with trips to Spain and Portugal coming in July.

That America tour would also have aided Wolves’ marketing mission as they continue to make progress across the pond, which is why the club are eager to tie up the details for their South Korea trip quickly – as well as giving fans as much notice as possible to make their own arrangements.

Wolves did also consider a tour of America this summer before finally deciding on South Korea.