liam berry takes a look at wolves imminent signing gonçalo guedes
The club have been tracking Gonçalo Guedes for some time and have monitored him for several windows with head coach Bruno Lage said to be an admirer of the tricky winger.
Guedes is also a client of Jorge Mendes, whom the club have worked closely with on bringing in a number of top stars in recent years.
The 25-year-old’s imminent arrival could help fill the void as striker Raul Jimenez is recovering from an MCL injury, and if the deal goes through quickly it would be expected that Guedes could be available for the Premier League fixture against Fulham this weekend.
In all competitions, Guedes netted 13 goals and six assists in 42 appearances last season, playing mostly as a second striker, but also appearing as a winger or a centre forward. His versatility will prove vital for Wolves as he can play across all positions in the front line.
Guedes also plays for the Portugal national team, making his debut in 2015, he has played a total of 31 games for Portugal, with six goals and five assists.
Guedes would see Wolves’ Portuguese player count rise to 10, with the likes of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Nelson Semedo being among his international team mates.
what will gonçalo guedes add to the team?
At Valencia, his teammates would work hard to create space for Guedes, meaning his ball carrying has improved vastly over the years. His dribbles would not usually be in tight spaces, but finds pockets of space from which he can use to cross the ball.
This would be interesting to see where exactly he plays for Wolves, with their new system providing free flowing attacking movements and using the counter attack to their advantage. With Jimenez out, he could be used as a target man, but arguably his game would be working with other players to supply for the striker.
His attribute to carry the ball will be vital on the counter, breaking at pace whilst finding the spaces.
will this mean an exit for Morgan?
Guedes’ imminent arrival has sparked questions around Morgan Gibbs-White’s future, which remains the subject of much speculation.
Reports suggest that Premier League newcomers Nottingham Forest are edging closer to reaching Wolves’ valuation of €40million, despite the club’s desire to keep the promising midfielder, with Lage openly speaking about how much Gibbs-White means to his plans for the season.
article written by liam berry
I am a life long Wolves fan that is passionate for the club. I am a sixth form student who loves writing about things I love!