Following the sacking of Vitor Pereira, there will now be a clean slate for Jhon Arias at Wolves.
Jhon Arias arrived at Molineux as the second signing of the summer for the Old Gold, and there was real excitement about him.
Arias was tipped to be the direct replacement for Matheus Cunha, and even took the Brazilian’s old number 10 shirt.
He had a reputation for being one of the top players over in Brazil, and had impressed at the Club World Cup with Fluminense.
But unfortunately, Arias has not thrived in the way everyone hoped he would. While he’s had plenty of minutes, Arias just hasn’t had the desired impact in the final third.
There have been flashes of his quality. But certainly, fans are still waiting on Arias to explode at Molineux – and hopefully new manager Rob Edwards will be able to get a tune out of him.
Ahead of returning to Compton soon, Arias at least produced a good display last night for Colombia.
Jhon Arias impresses for Colombia amid Wolves struggles
This is an important international break for Arias.
He’s not had the start he was hoping for and the likelihood is that his confidence will have taken a hit.
Last night though, there was an opportunity for Arias to forget about what’s been happening at Wolves, as he started for Colombia in a friendly match at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Arias didn’t join up with Colombia during the October international break, with Nestor Lorenzo confirming that that attacker was needed back at Wolves, both for the team and for himself.
But Arias was back starting last night for Colombia – and it seems he had a fairly decent game.
As per Sofascore data, Arias was near-faultless on the ball, completing 50/51 (98%) passes. Two of those passes were ‘key’. He also had 67 touches – only three players had more in the match.
Arias also did his defensive work. He contested 13 duels which was more than any other player in the game, winning six. He also won four tackles, which was again the most of any player.
He eventually made way on 77 minutes, and Colombia went on to win the game 2-1.
El Espectador noted that Arias had ‘worried’ the opposition playing on the right side for Colombia.
Edwards will be pleased with Arias showing
Edwards may be hard at work back at Compton with the players that aren’t on international duty. But he will surely have one eye on how the call-ups are getting on.
Edwards is all about hard work and likes players who show the same. Arias’ defensive work rate has never really been in question, so there is a good chance the new manager will like him.
His showing against New Zealand will be welcomed by Edwards, who’ll be looking for a reason to start Arias against Crystal Palace after the international break.
Keep or sell Jhon Arias in January?
Hopefully, Edwards can get a tune out of Arias – who is reportedly dissatisfied at Wolves at the moment.
It will be really important to get a player of his quality to thrive.
He is clearly a good player, with Arias making the shortlist for Best Men’s Midfielder at the FIFA Best award following a fine year before his move to Wolves.
It would be a travesty if it didn’t work out for him at Molineux, especially since it was a dream of his to play in the Premier League and how he even took a salary cut to make his move.