Wolves have confirmed the signing of Brazilian defender Pedro Lima from Sport Club do Recife, pending work permit and international clearance.
The club secured the 18-year-old right-back, making him Gary O’Neil’s fourth signing of the summer window.
Lima arrived in England on Sunday and completed his medical tests on his 18th birthday. He signed a five-year contract, with an option for an extra year, bolstering Wolves’ defence.
The young full-back showed promise early in his career, playing 26 games in his debut senior season for Sport Recife.
Born in Cabedelo, Joao Pessoa, like his new Wolves teammate Matheus Cunha, Lima started at Esporte Clube Meninos da Paraíba before joining Sport Recife’s academy at 15.
He impressed at under-17 and under-20 levels, earning a call-up to Brazil’s under-17 team.
In October 2023, Lima played in the FIFA U17 World Cup, featuring in all five matches for Brazil, including a 2-1 win over England. He provided an assist in the last 16 victory against Ecuador.
After the World Cup, Lima was promoted to the Recife first team for the 2024 season. He made his senior debut in January, starting in a 2-0 win over Afogados and scoring his first professional goal three days later.
Lima thrived in the senior team, scoring his second goal in a 3-1 win over Treze in February and helping the club reach the semi-finals of the Copa do Nordeste. He played a key role in Recife’s Campeonato Pernambucano success, assisting in the first leg of the final as Recife lifted the trophy.
After eight appearances in Brazil’s Serie B in recent months, Lima now joins Wolves for his first experience of European and English football.
MATT HOBBS
“I’m really happy we’ve been able to add Pedro to the first-team squad. There was lots of competition for him, but we’ve been working on bringing him to Wolves for a while now, and he’s fully invested in our project.
“He’s a person with huge ambition, but Gary and the coaches know where he wants to get to and they will be working with him – like they do all our players – to be better and improve. He has a massive desire to be the best player he can be and we’re going to help him meet his goals.
“Through his attitude, through his work on the pitch, his work in the gym and the way he looks after himself, I expect him to be really competitive and push the players who might be ahead of him at the moment, but in Nelson, I think there’s no better right-back for him to learn from.”
He becomes Wolves’ fourth summer signing, following Tommy Doyle’s permanent move from Manchester City, and the acquisitions of Portuguese winger Rodrigo Gomes and Norwegian striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.
