Joe Hodge joined the club for an undisclosed fee from Portuguese side FC Tondela on a two-year deal, with the club holding the option of a further year.

Mancunian-born Hodge moved from Manchester City to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2021. His breakthrough season came in the 2022/23 campaign. Hodge was a star in the Wolves youth sides and made his debut for the first team in October 2022 at Stamford Bridge in a 3-0 defeat.

That was one of the three appearances of the bench before Hodge was given his first start in the EFL Cup against Leeds United. Julen Lopetegui opted to increase his minutes by giving him his first Premier League start against Everton later that year, with Hodge also starting at Anfield in the FA Cup.

In total, he made 13 appearances for Wolves before joining QPR on loan for the 2023/24 season. Missing a large chunk of the season, he made 10 appearances during the campaign and went out on loan the following season to Huddersfield Town. Making 27 appearances in League One, he moved to Portuguese Liga side FC Tondela last summer, signing a four-year contract.

The midfielder made 27 appearances across his sole season in Portugal and made his international debut for Ireland in June against Canada.