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Rob Edwards appointed new manager at Hwang Hee-chan's Wolves

Published: 13 Nov. 2025, 12:06 Updated: 14 Nov. 2025, 13:39

JIM BULLEY
[email protected]

Rob Edwards applauds fans ahead of kickoff in a Premier League match between Luton Town and Everton at Kenilworth Road in Luton, Britain, on May 3, 2024. [AFP/YONHAP]

Rob Edwards has been appointed as the new manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, joining the last-place team with just two points to show for 11 games.

The 42-year-old former defender signed a three-and-a-half year deal, replacing Vitor Pereira, who was sacked at the start of the month. His job will be to “refresh the whole club.”

Wolves is familiar territory for Edwards, who spent four seasons there as a player in the mid-2000s before returning in 2014 as an academy coach. He was moved up to a first team coaching position in 2015 and served as interim manager for two games. He left to manage nearby Telford in 2017 and returned to Wolves in 2018 as U23 manager, earning the youth team promotion to the top division for the first time.

Edwards left Wolves in 2019 to coach the England U20 team, before being appointed head coach of the national U16 team in 2020. He has since managed Forest Green Rovers, earning them promotion to League One, Championship side Watford, Luton Town, earning them promotion from the Championship to Premier League, and Championship side Middlesbrough.

Wolves reportedly paid Middlesbrough £3 million ($3.9 million) to release him this week.

Edwards will be the fifth manager that Hwang Hee-chan, the only Korean player currently active in the Premier League, has played under at Wolves.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan warms up before a match agaionst Chelsea at Stanford Bridge in London on Nov. 8. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Hwang joined the club in the summer of 2021, a couple of months after Portuguese manager Bruno Lage took the helm. Lage was replaced by Julen Lopetegui in 2022, with Gary O’Neil taking the helm a year later. O’Neil lasted a year and a half, replaced by Pereira in December last year.

Like his club, Hwang is in the midst of a difficult season. He has appeared in eight of 11 games, missing one with injury and spending two on the bench. He has started six of those, but has just one goal to show for his 370 minutes of playing time.

In the Carabao Cup, which Wolves were knocked out by Chelsea on Oct. 29, Hwang made three appearances and picked up one assist, in the 4-3 loss against Chelsea. He captained Wolves to their second-round win over West Ham on Aug. 26.

Edwards has a week to find his feet as he joins the club in the middle of an international break. He will face his first test as Wolves take on Crystal Palace on Nov. 22, or at midnight on Nov. 23 in Korea.

Hwang has been called up for Korean and is likely to appear in two friendlies scheduled over the international break. He is also likely to be in Edwards’ squad when Premier League football resumes next week.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]