‘Quickly be an option’ - Wolves boss’ delight to reunite with Ivory Coast World Cup star

Wolves boss Cesar Peixoto is relishing the chance to work with Ivory Coast international Ghislain Konan again.

The left-back joined Wolves on a one-year deal following David Moller Wolfe’s deadline day departure.

Konan, who represented his nation at this summer’s World Cup, has reunited with Peixoto after playing under the Wolves head coach at Gil Vicente last season - and Peixoto was delighted to bring him to Molineux.

“I’m pleased because he’s a good player, an experienced international player,” said the Wolves head coach.

“We were lucky at Gil Vicente to have him because it was an important year for him to go to the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup. Gil Vicente don’t normally have the capacity to bring this level of player to their team.

“He’s one of the captains of Ivory Coast and is a player we needed to replace ‘Wolfie’, and I think he has the capacity and quality to play at this level because he’s played at the highest level before.”

Konan made 31 appearances under Peixoto at Gil Vicente before returning to international duty. He has won 57 Ivory Coast caps and helped his country win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Peixoto warned the 30-year-old will need time to get up to speed, but believes their familiarity with one another will help him make a quick impact.

He added: “He’s very strong and goes fast one versus one. He’s a very experienced guy and played a lot of international games with his national team, and he played in France, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Portugal - he gives us capacity to stay competitive with two players per position like I want. I’m happy and it’s good for the team.

“He hasn’t trained with a team (this summer), he trained alone, so needs time to be fit. To understand my idea of the game is easier because he played with me last year and he has a similar idea of the game, so the process is easier for him.

“Training alone isn’t the same as being with the team, but he’ll start to have minutes in the games. He’s a strong guy with a lot of physicality and he’ll quickly be an option to play.”

Konan will challenge Hugo Bueno for the left-back position, with the Spaniard having started Wolves’ last three Championship matches. And Peixoto is relishing the competition for places.

“Konan is a player I know well, but he has to work hard to play because we have Hugo who is a great player,” he said.

“He’s in amazing form, has played very well since the first moment, and Konan is going to have to work hard. We need to stay with a positive energy to stay competitive.”