Wolves have announced their plans to further honour the lives of former player Diogo Jota and brother Andre Silva, including talks over a permanent memorial.
Jota spent three seasons at Wolves prior to his £45 million switch to Liverpool in 2020 and the Midlands club have marked his passing with high-profile tributes.
As has been the case outside Anfield, flowers, shirts, scarves, pictures and messages have been laid by fans outside of Molineux in honour of the striker and his brother Andre.
But with heavy rain now forecast the club are in the process of removing those tributes and carefully storing them to protect them from damage.
In an update on Monday afternoon, Wolves outlined their longer-term plans to honour Jota and his brother, including a “more permanent memorial.”
That could incorporate many of the tributes left by supporters outside the stadium, while floral tributes are set to be turned into coloured ink in order to be used as part of a bespoke artwork.
Further details regarding those tributes are set to be confirmed in due course.
Wolves have also announced tributes for two upcoming home games: their final friendly of pre-season against Celta Vigo (August 9) and the Premier League opener against Man City (August 16).
“The club is working closely with supporters to ensure both tributes are fitting of Diogo’s legacy at Wolves, with the main commemorations planned for the Man City fixture,” their statement reads.
Liverpool and Wolves will likely also be in contact over a tribute to Diogo and Andre ahead of their meeting at Anfield, currently scheduled for December 27, though those talks will take place further into the future.
It comes after impeccably served tributes to the brothers during the Reds’ opening friendly of pre-season away to Preston on Sunday.
Before kickoff at Deepdale, Preston captain Ben Whiteman laid a wreath in front of the away end while singer Claudia Rose Maguire sang renditions of the two clubs’ anthems, Can’t Help Falling in Love and You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Players then stood for a minute’s silence and supporters sang songs for Jota throughout the 3-1 win, including an extended rendition of ‘his name is Diogo’ from the 20th minute.
After full-time, Arne Slot, his staff and players headed over to the Bill Shankly Kop to applaud the travelling Liverpool fans who again sang Jota’s song on repeat while his and Andre’s picture was displayed on the big screen.
Many were left in tears as they marked the life and death of their close friend and his brother, who passed away in a car crash on July 3.
