Vitor Pereira has helped transform the fortunes of several Wolves players this season.
Matheus Cunha has caught the headlines, meanwhile, the likes of João Gomes and André have also earned plaudits for their performances.
One Molineux star who has arguably gone under the radar, though, is Toti Gomes.
The Portuguese international has been an integral part in Wolves’ recent revival, with Gomes even being compared to William Saliba at points this season.
Now a mainstay in Pereira’s lineup, there was, however, a time when Gomes’ impact wasn’t recognised by Wolves managers – namely, Bruno Lage.
Bruno Lage didn’t realise Toti Gomes played for Wolves
Despite first signing for Wolves in 2020, Gomes wouldn’t actually feature for the West Midlands outfit for two years.
After making his debut in January 2022 against Southampton, then Wolves boss Lage revealed he didn’t even know Gomes existed prior to his debut, despite being contracted to the club for two seasons.
“I didn’t know him until the last few weeks. He was on his holidays two weeks ago, and he came back and had a couple of training sessions with us (via SkySports).
“Today, we changed some of the positions and the system, and we went with Toti. During this week, he was comfortable in training, good attitude and calm guy.
“What he did today is what he has done over the past two weeks with us. It is very hard to come in after just two weeks playing for us, playing in a stadium and playing against a strong team.
“We are very happy as he did very well and helped the team to win this game.”
Vitor Pereira is a big fan of Gomes
Gomes would enjoy mixed success under Lage, but has since gone on to flourish into one of Wolves’ main men under Pereira.
Featuring on the left side of a back three, the 26-year-old has transformed himself into a vital part of the Molineux defence, with Pereira hailing Gomes’ importance back in February.
“It’s the left foot, which is important for us. It’s important to play on the left side with a left foot because it’s different.
“If you play with the right foot on the opposite side as a defender, you have problems because the balance is different.
“When you face a player with the opposite foot, it is worse because sometimes he can go to the line, he can come inside and it’s difficult.
| 24/25 stats | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| Toti Gomes | 31 | 0 | 1 |
“It means that with Toti close to Rayan, we have the cover every time and this is important for us.
“When we build the play from the left side with the left foot, it is different because the first touch is to open the game and we open the solutions to start playing.
“Even when we are pressing, because the pressure from the other team is strong, and we need to find the second or third solution. With the left foot, it is better.”