Vitor Pereira has conceded there is one player at Wolves he just wasn’t really sure about positionally at Wolves.
The head coach has been at Wolves for nearly four months now, and will be fairly well up on his players by now.
And the appointment has been successful so far, with Vitor Pereira guiding Wolves to nine points clear of the relegation zone.
And key to Wolves’ improvements lately has been Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
He has improved dramatically over the past couple of months, and Bellegarde even won Wolves’ Player of the Month award for February.
He has been able to play centrally a bit more often recently, and Pereira has conceded he didn’t really know where to play him at first.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde gets big vote of confidence from Vitor Pereira
Bellegarde endured a tricky first season at Wolves.
After a very good debut against Liverpool, Bellegarde struggled in the Premier League, and often found himself shunted out wide.
This term, since the arrival of Pereira, he has been able to play in the middle a bit more. And lately, we’ve also seen him in the Matheus Cunha position.
Pereira spoke about Bellegarde at his press conference yesterday ahead of the game with West Ham – and it’s clear how much he rates the Frenchman.
He said: “I’m very happy for him, because he’s a team player, and I like this kind of player. In the beginning I had doubts about his position in the system, but now he can play in different positions, he can play as a midfielder, he can play as a forward in between the lines.
“He is a worker, and I like this kind of player.”
Bellegarde is finally showing his value for Wolves
The rise of £12.8 million signing Bellegarde (BBC Sport) over the last couple of months has been great to see.
It has always felt there is a player there, but for several reasons he hasn’t been able to impress up until now.
Bellegarde’s versatility is clearly something Pereira likes a lot.
| Bellegarde involvement in Pereira’s 15 games at Wolves so far |
| Appearances – 15 |
| Starts – 8 |
| Minutes played – 716 |
| Goals – 1 |
| Assists – 4 |
And it will be so useful for Wolves and hopefully next season we’ll see him kick on even more.
Recently, Dave Edwards said Bellegarde is finally showing his value for Wolves, and clearly Pereira feels the same way.
With Matheus Cunha and Pablo Sarabia likely to leave this summer, the onus will be on him to step up as an attacking midfielder next season – and fans will believe he can do it based on what he’s shown lately.