Sometimes when young players come to the Premier League they can struggle – but that has not been the case with Joao Gomes, who deserves great credit for his start to the new season.
Wanderers landed Gomes back in January, as the club sought to bolster their squad amid their worrying position in the Premier League.
Wolves scouts identified Gomes out in Brazil, and he was signed for £15 million from Flamengo – but not before an attempted hijack from Lyon.
Gomes’ stance essentially made the transfer happen. It was always Wolves for the 21-year-old, and that instantly endeared him to the Molineux faithful.
Gomes was given a handful of appearances by Julen Lopetegui.
But he was playing second fiddle to Mario Lemina and Ruben Neves, which was to be expected.
In the summer Neves left Wolves, as was expected by most, and Gomes then did something very bold – he took Neves’ number eight shirt.
Perhaps that was a risk, given the potential weight of expectation. But so far, Gomes has looked pretty at home in it and Wolves really do have a brilliant young talent on their hands…
Joao Gomes deserves credit for his start to the new season after taking Neves’ shirt
Gomes perhaps hasn’t been spoken about as much as other players this term.
Obviously Pedro Neto and Hwang Hee-chan have been making a lot of headlines for their exploits in the final third.
But young Gomes has been brilliant in the middle.
It is easy to forget that he has still only been in England for nine months.
He did not arrive with the best English – Dan Bentley recently said the squad are helping him to improve it – and obviously the culture here is completely different to in Brazil.
But Gomes, with his new role as a regular starter this season, has had a really promising start.
That number eight shirt might have weighed heavy. After all, Neves gave the fans some truly amazing moments wearing it.
But Gomes does not appear fazed at all by wearing it, or by essentially being Neves’ direct replacement. He plays with refreshing confidence, and it’s easy to see why he’s one of the most popular players in the squad with the fans.
It was definitely a huge call for him to take that shirt.
It’s just an indicator as to what kind of mentality he has.
He is not one to shy away. And that is evident with how he plays the game with such tenacity.
Wolves fans will hope his good early form continues.
Who knows, perhaps he could one day become as adored by the Molineux faithful as the last number eight…