After the season from hell for Wolverhampton Wanderers, supporters have been desperate for a hero to emerge from the gloom.

Step forward Fer López, the 22-year-old attacker who has become an emblem of hope as Wolves target an immediate return to the Premier League.

After 11 Championship matches, López has five goals and three assists and is being heralded as one of the best players in the second tier. A gifted No 10 with wonderful technique, he has provided the magic in what has proved a mixed start for new head coach, César Peixoto.

Wolves are fourth in the league but, despite López’s impact, they have not been entirely convincing as they aim to launch a promotion assault. Ahead of the game against Cardiff this weekend, Wolves’ new star is determined to spark their season into life.

“We want to put smiles back on the faces of supporters because last season was very difficult,” he says. “I wasn’t playing and wasn’t enjoying my football, but now it feels totally different. I’m usually a very confident guy and when you show what you can do, you believe in yourself more.

“I want to be in the Championship’s best XI or the highest on goals and assists at the end of the season. My main goal is to win the league and be a big part of it. I don’t want to just get promotion, I want a title.”

Signed from Celta Vigo for £19m in the summer of 2025, López has had to be patient. As Wolves endured a nightmare campaign, he struggled and was loaned back to Celta in January.

This summer he returned uncertain of the future, but intense training camps in Marbella during pre-season with former England international Kieran Trippier prepared him for the physical demands of the Championship.

Peixoto replaced Rob Edwards in June and, in the first week of training back at the club’s Compton base, assured López he would be a huge part of his plans.

“I was happy when he told me that, because obviously when a manager shows his confidence and his trust, as a player you believe more. You are not afraid of making big mistakes,” says López.

“He showed a lot of trust in me, and that’s the only thing I needed. I know that if I do something wrong, but I’m still running and work hard for the team, that it’s OK. The coach has changed everything and we are playing a lot more with the ball and not defending so much. It is the way I want to play and I’m playing in my favourite position.”

López was Wolves’ Player of the Month for August and enhanced his reputation with fans by scoring the only goal against bitter rivals West Brom last month. His three assists so far this season are also evidence of his ability to produce line-breaking passes.

Predominantly left-footed, his assist from near the halfway line to set up team-mate Marshall Munetsi against Blackburn Rovers was sublime. “I need to be involved, I’m not a player like Erling Haaland who touches it nine times and score four goals,” he says. “I need to feel like I’m part of the game. Playing in a 4-3-3 on the right of the three midfielders is my best position, for sure. I can either stay in the pockets more as a No 10, trying to receive the pass and turn, or I can go as a No 8 and try to go a little bit more back, get the ball from the full-back or progress from deep. I think I have the ability to do both.”

While he is now one of Wolves’ main men, López reflects on last season as a valuable experience while also hugely frustrating. He started only one league game under Vítor Pereira, who was sacked in November, and was in and out of the starting XI under Edwards.

“It didn’t benefit me playing so little and then starting a game. It was like throwing me to the lions a little bit,” he says. “You can’t put me on for 20 minutes and then start me in the next game, because I wasn’t ready to start. It was the first time I’d left home and I needed to adapt to the league. I can only adapt by playing, but by playing wisely.”

The return to Celta on loan in January reinvigorated López. He helped the club reach the Europa League quarter-final and finish sixth in La Liga. Returning to Wolves was always the plan, and he is now showing why the club’s recruitment team was scouting him for so long.

López is fully settled in the city and particularly close with his former housemate Toti Gomes as well as team-mates Jordan James and João Virgínia. He speaks regularly with Peixoto and his coaches to obtain feedback, and always watches clips of his matches when the team bus travels back from away games.

Opinions are never in short supply from his family, too, who he says are his biggest critics. “My brother and my dad [both called Joaquin] always tell me the truth when I play good or bad,” he says, laughing and shaking his head. “My dad is not as bad now but my brother is crazy – even if I play a perfect game and do one thing wrong he will point it out quickly. He’s the one that obviously tries to wind me up a little bit but it’s never anything personal.”

Focus will now turn to Molineux this weekend, with Peixoto still waiting for lift-off in the Championship. Despite the 1-0 win over Watford on Tuesday night, supporters are still concerned over performances and the absence of ruthlessness when the team dominate possession.

López is fully fit after he was rested as a precaution last Saturday with slight calf pain, and insists the target of promotion remains on track. “We are fourth and still haven’t played our best football yet. Obviously it takes time, but I think we are adapting very well,” he says.

“I’m very happy with how I’ve been playing and I feel confident every time I go out there. The Championship is mental with three games a week and there is still so long to go. The most important thing is that we win the league.”