Roberto De Zerbi says you might see a different Albion side this season.

At least, you might do all the time they are playing without a direct successor to Moises Caicedo.

The head coach has told his players to be extra wary of counter attacks as they build possession.

That will certainly be something to keep in mind against a Wolves side who countered with pace and menace in their narrow defeat at Manchester United on Monday.

De Zerbi gave his first press conference yesterday since Caicedo joined Chelsea.

He reiterated that the club were looking for someone to play that role without commenting on their interest in Lille teenager Carlos Baleba.

In practice, the post-Caicedo era actually started in the friendly against Rayo Vallecano and the league game versus Luton.

The Hatters offered some threat on counter raids.

But this will be the first big test for them without the protective element of their Ecuador powerhouse.

De Zerbi said early in his press conference yesterday: “I think we are working on a new midfielder but I don’t know the situation. My focus is only on Wolverhampton.

“We have studied many midfielders and I don’t know what the situation is now.

“We have to adapt, we have to play in a different way.

“We are studying different strategies because Moises is a unique player.

“He has different characteristics and qualities.

“He is a top, top player and without him we have to find the right balance, always keeping the ball and in our style, but we have to change something.

“We have to be more focussed when we have the ball, we can’t lose the ball in a simple way.

“We have to be ready to react when we lose the ball.

“We can’t try to play with difficult passes, we have to change something.”

Asked later by The Argus whether they had worked hard on being protective of the ball in training, De Zerbi said: “Always. Also last year we worked on the reaction when we lost the ball.

“I think this year it will be the crucial point, if we speak about tactical disposition.

“When we have the ball, we can’t think to score, we can think to build the condition that, if we lose the ball, we don’t concede a goal.

“It is difficult to understand but it’s like this.”

Albion’s build-up looked a bit different against Luton.

It was not just about Caicedo, of course.

Alexis Mac Allister was very happy having the ball rolled into him when facing his own goal and feeling opponents right at his back.

He is no longer there to play that role, although Billy Gilmour, Mahmoud Dahoud and Pascal Gross are all comfortable on the ball.

Adam Webster, who likes to put his studs on the ball and then play his passes, was also absent for the Luton game.

Jan Paul van Hecke is an attentive and combative defender but less of a ball player, although he is striving to improve in that area.

But Albion will have every reason to be ready for the transition even before it happens.

Now we know what we are looking for, we might understand what is going on if De Zerbi turns away at any moment at Molineux looking unhappy for no obvious reason.