Goncalo Guedes has been tipped by former Benfica player Ljubinko Drulovic to be decisive for the Portuguese giants in their hunt for the league title.
Guedes sealed a loan move to the club from Wolves last month, after struggling to settle at Molineux.
Guedes started the 2022/23 season in Wolves’ starting XI and played most games under Bruno Lage.
But his sacking appeared to be the start of his struggles.
Guedes didn’t really have the trust of Steve Davis. Julen Lopetegui then gave him a handful of opportunities, but he didn’t make the most of them.
Towards the end of the window, Guedes left to join Benfica, with Lopetegui revealing the player didn’t want to be at Wolves.
Since returning to Portugal, Guedes has done fairly well.
He’s scored one goal and grabbed one assist in four appearances so far. And he has started the last three matches.
But it’s possible his starting berth could now be under threat, with Goncalo Ramos set to return.
Ramos – who’s bagged 18 goals in 28 games across all competitions this season – has been injured, but is an option again for Roger Schmidt.
He has been exceptional this term, and the star reportedly has a lot of transfer interest in him as a result of his fine form. Wolves were actually one of the clubs to have been linked with Ramos last year. The player is thought to have a release clause of £105 million.
According to Drulovic, Guedes can still play a big part for Benfica going forwards. In fact, he reckons the pair can probably play together.
He said (A Bola): “To get in, you don’t have to leave the other. On the contrary, by the characteristics that have both, I even believe they can make a pair very difficult to catch. They can be decisive in the title fight.
Wolves need Goncalo Guedes to make decisive contributions for Benfica
Hopefully the return of Ramos will not have a negative impact on Guedes.
Ideally, Wolves need the 26-year-old to be playing as much as possible between now and the end of the season.
It seems Guedes doesn’t really want to be at Wolves.
And so, in the summer it’s likely the club will want to be selling him. Unless he has a big change of heart.
Wolves spent £27.5 million to bring Guedes to Molineux, and officials will be wanting to at least make that back.