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Hwang Hee-chan is now Wolverhampton's ace in name and reality.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers will face off against Chelsea in the 18th round of the 2023-24 Premier League at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton in England at 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Currently, Wolverhampton ranks 14th with 19 points and Chelsea ranks 10th with 22 points.

The player who receives the most attention ahead of the match is Hwang Hee-chan. England's "Sky Sports" released a poster of the match ahead of the showdown between Chelsea and Wolverhampton. Enzo Fernandez appeared as Chelsea's main model, and Hwang Hee-chan appeared as Hwang Hee-chan's main model. This is proof of how important Hwang Hee-chan is for Wolverhampton this season.

The main poster of the match between Wolverhampton and Chelsea uploaded on the official SNS channel of the PL Secretariat was also Hwang Hee-chan. Also, Enzo appeared at Chelsea.

It is no exaggeration to say that Hwang Hee-chan is the most important player at Wolverhampton this season. Before the start of the season, the situation at Wolverhampton was so bad that he was considered a candidate for the relegation zone. Due to his sudden separation from Julen Lopetegui and his weakened power, he was classified as a relegation zone. The appointment of Gary O'Neill, who has not much managerial experience, made Wolverhampton even more worried.

Only at the beginning of the season, the unstable prediction seemed to become a reality. Wolverhampton, who had only one win in five league games, fell to the bottom. Still, it was Hwang Hee-chan who made the team look forward to it. Hwang Hee-chan came out as a substitute at the beginning of the season, but he continued his surprise performance by scoring three goals in five league games.

With Hwang Hee-chan's changed performance, O'Neill started to make the most of Hwang Hee-chan. It was also Hwang Hee-chan who changed the mood for Wolverhampton. In the seventh-round match against Manchester City, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was also wary of Hwang Hee-chan. Despite the guard of the world's top leader, Hwang Hee-chan scored the winning goal to sink Manchester City, giving his team its second league victory.

Since then, Wolverhampton has also started to accumulate points little by little, and Hwang Hee-chan has started to spread his wings properly. He began to be reborn as an ace as he scored five consecutive offensive points in the league, including the match against Manchester City. Hwang Hee-chan's performance continued after that. The team appeared whenever necessary and scored a goal.

Hwang Hee-chan added one goal at the match against Burnley in the 15th round, achieving 10 offensive points in a single season for the first time since joining the PL. In the score ranking of Korean Premier Leaguers, Hwang surpassed his predecessor Ki Sung-yueng and ranked third alone. It was a historic moment.

When Hwang Hee-chan led the team's attack with crazy performances, the team started to catch Hwang Hee-chan. This is because Hwang Hee-chan, who has been active this season, is more likely to drool in other teams. Wolverhampton immediately began preparing to renew his contract.

The news that Wolverhampton has started negotiating with Hwang Hee-chan on his contract renewal was reported in mid-November. England's The Athlete reported, "Wolverhampton is in talks with Hwang Hee-chan on renewing his contract. Hwang Hee-chan's existing contract does not expire until 2026, but he has become a key player this season. The club wants to repay Hwang Hee-chan for his performance with an improved contract."

Coach O'Neill, who cherishes Hwang Hee-chan, said after the news broke that he was in negotiations to renew his contract, "I am hopeful. I am a big fan of Hwang Hee-chan, so I hope things go well. Hwang Hee-chan has been amazing since I took office. He performed everything he asked for and scored well. Hwang Hee-chan is always smiling and has a determination and determination. He is an important player for the club. I hope he can stay longer than the current contract," he said, directly mentioning that he hopes the negotiations will be concluded smoothly.


Hwang Hee-chan also had a desire to stay at Wolverhampton for a longer time. Negotiations proceeded smoothly as the issues that the club and the player wanted were the same. Fabrizio Romano, a known European transfer market expert, delivered exclusive information on his personal SNS on the 13th. "Wolverhampton has already agreed to renew his contract with Hwang Hee-chan. The new contract is due in June 2028. An additional extension clause was included," he reported.

Wolverhampton gave Hwang an unconventional treatment in order to capture him. Romano added, "Hwang will be treated the same as the club's highest-paid players with the new contract. It's a big move with their best player for Wolverhampton."


The news that Hwang Hee-chan renewed his contract with Wolverhampton came first from the manager's mouth, not the club. The club did not even make an official announcement, but O'Neill made it public first.

"Hwang Hee-chan played very hard. We are satisfied with Hwang because he has provided everything to me, the coaching staff, and my teammates since I came here. He scored some really important goals. I am happy that Wolverhampton has secured a contract with Hwang for a longer period of time," he said in person, adding that he has renewed his contract with Hwang.

O'Neill also seemed very satisfied with the renewal of his contract with Hwang. He said, "Hwang Hee-chan is a great person, too. He came to see me and the coaching staff and thanked us for our hard work with him so that he could sign a new contract. This tells a lot about who Hwang Hee-chan is and how important he is in the team. When someone puts as much effort into it as he does, it's great that a player is rewarded with goals, assists, and a new contract."


The official announcement was made by the club a week after O'Neill announced the renewal of Hwang's contract. "Hwang Hee-chan has promised his future to the club by signing a new long-term contract with us through 2028," Wolverhampton officially announced on his website on Tuesday. "It includes a one-year extension option."

"Hwang Hee-chan hasn't always gone smoothly since he arrived, but he has always done his best for the club. The fans really appreciate what he does on the ground. He burst open the scoring and became an important part of the team. All this is a fair reward for his actions on and off the field," said Matt Hobbs, Wolverhampton's sports director, explaining the reason for renewing his contract with Hwang.

"Hwang Hee-chan is fully embedded in the club, he loves the region, and he can see his love for the fans. He allows us to remain for a long time as a very important player. Good players can see what is happening at the Wolverhampton Training Center and what we are trying to build," Hwang Hee-chan said, adding that he is also satisfied with his life in Wolverhampton.


Hwang Hee-chan was also very satisfied with the renewal of his contract. Through the club, he said, "I am very happy to stay here. I want to say thank you to my team members, staff, family, and fans. I am very happy to stay in Wolverhampton. I am enjoying playing here and everything, life and soccer. I have very good team members and players, and everything here is amazing. I am ready to continue to play well and give everything I have," expressing his loyalty to Wolverhampton.

Hwang Hee-chan also expressed his willingness not to be satisfied that he has renewed his contract. He said, "I will not be satisfied with only the new contract. Sometimes I talk about our ambitions with some players. We have the same ambition. I have more responsibility to win, and I am ready to fight for the team. I think they are not just team members, but good friends and good brothers. We play for each other and I help them and they help me. That is why we are strong at the moment and it will make us stronger," and he said he hopes to go higher with his team members.

Ahead of the match, Wolverhampton announced the starting list. With ace Hwang Hee-chan at the forefront, Matheus Cunha and Pablo Sarabia were on the offensive. Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes were named in the midfield. Rayan Ait-Nuri and Nelsong Semedu were in charge of the left and right sides. Captain Maximilian Kilman, Craig Dawson and Toti Gomes worked together at the back in the third. Jose Saga, who returned from a back injury, starts for the first time in a long time and protects the goal.

Unfortunately, Pedro Netu, who returned from injury, was not listed on the match. Netu returned to team training on the 22nd, but he does not appear to be in the right condition to play yet. On the bench were Daniel Bentley, Matt Doherty, Santiago Bueno, Hugo Bueno, Tommy Doyle, and Sasha Kalajic.

Chelsea, the visiting team, also announced its starting lineup. Chelsea have prepared a 4-2-3-1 formation. At the forefront of the campaign, Armando Broja was trusted. Nicola Jackson, Cole Palmer, and Raheem Sterling were in the second line. Connor Gallagher and Leslie Ugochukwu will be in the midfield. Livi Kolwill, Thiago Silva, Axel Disasi, and Marlo Gusto were in charge of the back four. Jorge Petrovic was in charge of the goal.

Benoit Badiashil, Romeo Lavia, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Christopher Nkunku sat on the bench. It was noticeable that Nkunku, who joined the team with high expectations this season, was waiting on the candidate list.