Wolves plan to reward Coady with new contract
Wolverhampton Wanderers are to open contract talks with captain Conor Coady, who is on Gareth Southgate’s radar for an England call-up.
Coady is in line for a new deal after making a huge impression in the Premier League this season.
The defender’s wages were raised to around £36,000 a week after promotion from the Championship, but Wolves are ready to start negotiations over improved terms this month.
The former Liverpool trainee has been a key performer in a threeman Wolves defence and Southgate attended last Monday’s FA Cup tie against Liverpool at Molineux to watch him. Coady, 25, is in contention for European qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro in March.
Coady’s current Wolves deal has two years to run.
The club are also working on new signings this month, with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo lining up a surprise move for Stoke City defender Moritz Bauer.
Nuno is targeting a right-back to compete with Matt Doherty and Wolves are considering an attempt to secure Bauer on loan.
Bauer was a £4million signing from Rubin Kazan last January, but has not featured for Stoke since September after falling out of favour with former manager Gary Rowett. Nathan Jones, the new manager, has pledged to give his players a clean slate, but Wolves have identified Bauer as a potential signing and can offer the Austrian the carrot of Premier League football.
Wolves face Manchester City tonight determined to extend their remarkable record against the top six. They have drawn with City, Manchester United and Arsenal, and beaten Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea already this season.
“We don’t go on to the pitch scared of anything, we know that we have to compete,” said Nuno.
“You cannot be scared or frightened of anything, you just have to be ready for what you have in front of you.
“We don’t fear them [City] because we believe that if we prepare ourselves very well, we are able to compete. The result is another thing, but it’s how our mentality is, how we prepare ourselves and we prepare with no fear.
“We prepare ourselves with motivation, we prepare ourselves with the illusion that we can, that we have to fight and try in every game.”
After the Liverpool victory, a buoyant Wolves team face City with no injury worries.