Decades after they dominated English football Wolves are on the prowl again as Championship money men aim to emulate opponents Manchester City

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The skies over Molineux are bleak but inside the ground John Hendley is describing why the future is bright for Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

The club historian and programme editor has been a fan since 1964, and for the first time he can envisage a return to the golden days when Wolves won league titles and blazed a trail in Europe.

'When you talk to older supporters you get the sense that the flavour of those years is here again,' Hendley says. 'In local pubs it used to be what I call "we" and "they". "We were tremendous" or "They were rubbish". Now a lot of people are coming up to me saying, "We are going to do it this year!"

Spirits are high at Championship leaders Wolves - and so is the club's level of ambition

Wolves are powered and run by Chinese conglomerate Fosun and chairman Jeff Shi (centre)

'I am 67, I could have retired but I still want to be part of this. Another two or three years out of me and we could be in the Premier League and sniffing around Europe – because that is the ultimate aim.'

Tonight, Wolves find inspiration in the shape of Manchester City, a club at the zenith of its powers following its own transformative takeover. Wolves are only just beginning their journey under Fosun, a Chinese conglomerate that took ownership last year, but the signs are there. Fosun's millions, invested through the advice and connections of agent Jorge Mendes, have brought to the club a coaching and playing staff with Champions League experience and given fans a style of play to utterly exhilarate.

At the Etihad, in the Carabao Cup, it is top of the Premier League versus top of the Championship and comparisons have already been made.

'We are being described by some jealous opponents as a poor man's Manchester City,' says John Lalley, a 64-year-old supporter. 'But I haven't heard a single Manchester City fan complaining about Sheikh Mansour. And you won't find me complaining about Fosun.'

A relationship that began dysfunctionally – with Kenny Jackett, Walter Zenga, and Paul Lambert all sacked within a year – has synced beautifully this season under the guidance of manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who turned down offers from the Champions League to move to the Black Country.

Santo bought into the project described by Mendes, his friend of 20 years, and has knitted together a team from diverse sources. There is winger Diogo Jota, brought on loan from Atletico Madrid; there is Ruben Neves, the club's £15.8m record signing from Porto; but there is also Danny Batth, who at 27 has been at Wolves his entire career.

Playing a system of three central defenders, two marauding wing-backs, and a fluid front trio, Santo's team have enlivened Molinuex. The crowd of 30,239 for the recent 2-0 win over Aston Villa was the club's largest since 1981. 

On Tuesday they play Sheik Mansour's Man City, who have also thrived off overseas investment

Wolves fans are hoping their Chinese owners can bring back the glory days to the Molineux

Steve Bull, who has a stand named in his honour, chuckles at the change. 'Last year and before that my phone was very, very quiet,' he says. 'Now it is like the Batphone, it is absolutely red hot with people wanting tickets to come to the game.

'We haven't had this type of football before. It takes time to build a side so they are excelling themselves.'

'Before Nuno came in there was a bit of despondency about the place,' adds Steve Daley. 'That went first game of the season against Middlesbrough. I turned to Jody Craddock and said, 'It's like watching Brazil'.

In possession they are so composed and when they haven't got the ball they hunt it. The one-touch is brilliant.'

Daley played for Wolves through their run to the 1972 UEFA Cup final and won a League Cup medal in 1974 before being sold for a British record fee of £1.4m to Manchester City.

Now he is a stadium announcer and for all the foreign influx it is that link to history that means supporters are not losing touch. For example Jody Craddock, veteran of the club's four Premier League seasons, has become an artist and is this season painting all the programme covers based on a former Wolves player who has a connection to that game's opponents.

It is indisputable though that without the influence of Mendes, Wolves would have a drastically different look right now. Despite a public insistence that the agent to Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho and many others, is simply a trusted intermediary, the truth is Mendes is much more. 

One such fan is club legend Steve Bull, who said: 'We haven't had this type of football before'

Wolves finally seem to have found the right manager in 43-year-old Nuno Espirito Santo

Mendes brokered the takeover that brought Fosun to Wolves, he remains close counsel for club chairman Jeff Shi, and his agency Gestifute has been involved in almost half of 25 incoming transfers across the last three windows.

Mendes's authority at the club is further evidenced, Sportsmail can reveal, by one of his trusted lieutenants regularly visiting the club's Compton Park training complex during the summer to understand where the squad needs strengthening.

Valdir Cardoso has quickly risen the ranks of Gestifute since retiring from football to be regarded as the vital conduit in reporting back to his boss proceedings at Wolves. The 33-year-old knows which positions are sought and proposals are made accordingly.

Kevin Thelwell, the sporting director, will also recommend prospective signings during meetings and Santo stresses that a club committee decides upon targets. But Mendes is the guiding voice and Thelwell, highly regarded in the football community, possesses far less power than might be expected of someone with his job title.

Wolves have splashed lots of cash on transfers, frequently using agent Jorge Mendes

Ruben Neves, the club's £15.8m record signing from Porto, is said to earn £45,000 per week

Supporters will not care if it means flowing football and a top-flight status for the first time since 2012. For all their big spending, Wolves are confident over Financial Fair Play regulations and Shi has moved from China to Wolverhampton with his wife and family increase the sense of stability. Almost all the players from Portugal, Spain, and wherever else also live within a ten-minute drive of the training ground to the leafy west of Wolverhampton.

Santo's work cannot be underestimated, unafraid to introduce the type of football from his previous clubs of Valencia and Porto, while also maintaining a happy squad in spite of vast variance in wages – Neves is thought to be on £45,000 per week for example while central defender Conor Coady takes home £8,000.

'I was down watching them train last week and it is important everybody in the camp gets on,' says Daley.

Bull is ebullient too. 'I am like a supporter. I go to the games, and pay my own way when away, on the bus with the lads. I want to watch entertaining football and get results and it is happening. I absolutely love it.'

Those who travel up the M6 tonight will feel the same, given a glimpse of what might be possible in Manchester. Fosun's board is made up of billionaires to collectively surpass the wealth of Roman Abramovich, so there is belief even greater investment would be forthcoming in the Premier League.

Bull says: 'I think in the years to come they are going to take this club to a different level.'