Wolverhampton Wanderers have emerged from a challenging and demoralising start to the Premier League season – that saw them in bottom position before the World Cup – with a new level of confidence and attacking verve, instigated by the impressive Julen Lopetegui.
The Spaniard has managed the Midlands club to relative midtable safety and their last two results have been comfortable home victories over Chelsea and Brentford in front of the roaring Molineux faithful.
With only a small portion of this campaign left, and the intensified rumours surrounding the uncertain future of Ruben Neves, the former Sevilla boss should turn to youngster Joao Gomes to fill their impending voids.
Who is Joao Gomes?
The 22-year-old was signed from Flamengo in January 2023 for a fee of €18m (£16m). Despite only playing in England for less than four months, he has already established himself as one of the Premier League’s most exciting and promising prospects.
The Brazilian has only appeared for Wolves on six occasions in the top flight but has already a made memorable and season-defining impact. The youngster scored the winning goal in a stunning comeback victory for the Wanderers on his Premier League debut with a wonderfully placed effort just inside the penalty area.
His teammate and veteran Joao Moutinho showered the youngster with praise for his role in the comeback and said:
“(Joao Gomes) brings a lot of things. He is a young guy with a lot of quality. He’s aggressive, he wants the ball, he wants to play the ball, and today he had a great finish.”
Lopetegui was also stunned and added: “He showed what we know about him: he has the character and the quality.”
The decision to purchase the £30k-per-week star in January before a host of summer interest in the summer could prove to be an astute piece of business and go some of the way to replacing Neves, who is 'ready to quit' the club, as per Football Insider.
According to WhoScored, the Portuguese ranks as the highest-rated player (6.99) in the Wolves squad, but the spritely Gomes sits just behind in second (6.78).
Whilst Neves flawlessly excels in passing metrics, ranking in the top 18% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive passes per 90, he lacks mobility and the dribbling ability of the prodigy.
The former Flamengo man manages an average of 1.43 progressive carries and 1.28 successful take-ons per 90, whilst the club captain has only mustered 0.78 and 0.69 for the same metrics, as per FBref.
Neves has been an indispensable component of a Wolves side that was promoted from the Championship in 2018 and has formed a sturdy top-flight reputation. But, Gomes offers a more athletic and dynamic profile, and with safety looking increasingly secure, Lopetegui should undoubtedly hand the future more deserved minutes.