Hugo Bueno believes one of his Wolves teammates was truly ‘outstanding’ last weekend against Tottenham Hotspur.
Wanderers drew 1-1 with Spurs down in north London, and were so close to winning the game.
A much-needed victory was snatched away from Wolves in the 94th minute as Joao Palhinha scored for the hosts from the edge of the penalty area.
It was deeply frustrating, because Spurs barely showed any attacking threat in the second-half as Wolves defended their one-goal lead.
But despite that gutting end to the game, there are plenty of positives to take for Wolves.
And one was the excellent display of Santiago Bueno, who got Wolves’ goal.
Hugo Bueno lauds Santiago Bueno after Tottenham draw
Santiago Bueno has entered into a purple patch for Wolves.
Since he signed for the club from Girona, he has mainly been a rotation option.
But now he finds himself near the top of the centre-back pecking order at Wolves, following a number of impressive performances this term.
He has done especially well in the last two games. After the draw with Spurs, Pereira praised Bueno’s mentality, and his namesake Hugo also gave him his flowers.
He said (via Wolves official): “I’m over the moon for Santi. He’s such a great lad and he’s always one of the players that always keep the standards high in training and give you 100%, it doesn’t matter the situation, and he showed that quality.
“The goal is a gift for all his work, but apart from the goal, I want to highlight his game in defence, because he was outstanding for us, on and off the ball, and hopefully he can keep giving us so much happiness.”
One would have thought Santi Bueno is firmly in contention to make a third successive start for Wolves against Brighton this weekend.
Santi Bueno must seize his opportunity
It is great to hear Santi Bueno coming in for all the plaudits at the moment.
But it will now be important for him to ensure consistency, because Pereira has all his other options fit and available.
While the likes of Emmanuel Agbadou and Toti Gomes have been in terrible form, they are still players who have performed really well for Pereira in the past.
One suspects that if Santi Bueno’s level dips, the manager will be ready to get one or both of those players back in at the Uruguayan’s expense.
That said, both of those players were kept in the team and given several chances to improve, so hopefully Santi Bueno will be managed in the same way should there be a dip.