Wolves’ Promotion Push and Contract Decisions

Wolves’ promotion push is the headline act this season. The contract calls come later – but they’re still looming in the background at Molineux.

Relegation has reset the club. Cesar Peixoto has taken 11 points from his first six Championship games, a solid start that hints at something more, but nobody around Wolves has forgotten how they ended up back in the second tier. Missteps in the boardroom matched failings on the pitch. That can’t happen again.

This time, the football staff chase points. The hierarchy quietly wrestle with the books, the wage bill and a small cluster of deals ticking towards expiry in 2027.

Five deals, one clear priority

By the end of the 2026/27 campaign, five senior players will be out of contract. On paper, that sounds like the start of a headache. In reality, it’s more a list of questions than full-blown problems.

Three of those players only walked through the door this summer.

• John Ruddy, a familiar and popular figure at Molineux, returned after leaving Newcastle United.
• Bertrand Traore arrived following his exit from Sunderland.
• Ghislain Konan linked back up with Peixoto after their time together at Gil Vicente.

All three signed on until the end of the 2026/27 season.

They are short-term bets with upside, not cornerstones. If they excel, Wolves have a decision to make. If they don’t, the reset button is easy to press.

Ruddy’s situation feels the most straightforward. The veteran goalkeeper’s future is likely to hinge as much on how long he wants to keep playing as it is on anything else. If he proves he can still deliver in the Championship dressing room and on the pitch, an extension almost writes itself. If not, the club can move on without tearing up their plans.

For Traore and Konan, the equation is harsher. They have to force their way into Peixoto’s Championship side and then stay there. Only if they show the kind of form that tempts interest from higher up the food chain will Wolves really feel the loss if they walk away for nothing.

Chirewa at a crossroads

Tawanda Chirewa sits in a different category altogether.

Wolves picked him up from Ipswich Town in 2023 as a prospect, not a finished product. Now 22, the attacking midfielder has shown flashes – enough to keep him in the conversation – but he remains on the fringes of Peixoto’s plans.

He started the Carabao Cup defeat to Everton on Wednesday, a chance to stake a claim. The numbers tell their own story, though: no goals or assists in 40 senior career appearances. For a creative player, that is the statistic that will decide his fate.

If Chirewa wants a new deal, he has to start affecting games. Not just neat touches or tidy cameos, but end product. Without that, Wolves can hardly justify tying up another squad slot when they are trying to build a promotion-ready group.

The big call: Boubacar Traore

Then comes the most delicate issue: Boubacar Traore.

The Malian midfielder cost a reported £9.5m when he joined in 2023. Letting that kind of investment drift towards a free transfer would be a brutal admission of failure. At 25, he still has development ahead of him, but time is running out to turn potential into a firm role in this team.

So far, his only starts have come in cup competitions. Cracking the Championship starting XI under Peixoto has proved a serious challenge, and nothing in his current status suggests that will suddenly change.

That leaves Wolves with a stark choice. Either Traore forces his way into the league side and convinces the club he belongs in the next phase of the project, or he becomes a saleable asset whose value drops with every month that passes. Right now, a 2027 exit feels more likely than a long-term stay – whether that’s a cut-price move in January or a free transfer next summer.

No crisis, but no room for complacency

For all that, this isn’t a contract crisis.

None of the five players heading into the final year of their deals are undisputed starters in the Championship campaign. Wolves can tackle each case on its merits without destabilising the promotion push. Ruddy’s future can be handled with respect and pragmatism. Bertrand Traore and Konan will determine their own importance by what they do between now and May. Chirewa and Boubacar Traore must prove they belong in a squad that aims to leave this division behind.

That suits Peixoto just fine. He can lock his attention on the touchline and the table, while those upstairs quietly decide who will still be wearing gold and black if Wolves are back in the Premier League by the time 2027 rolls around.