Goncalo Guedes’ omission from the Wolves squad against West Ham United yesterday was tactical, according to Julen Lopetegui.
The Portugal international was left out entirely, as Wanderers played host to David Moyes’ side.
Guedes was not missed, as Wolves recorded a huge 1-0 win. It was Daniel Podence who grabbed the game’s only goal.
Wolves had a strong squad yesterday, and it included new signing Mario Lemina.
But there was no place for Guedes, with youngster Chem Campbell being picked instead.
The decision came just days after Lopetegui hauled Guedes off at half-time in the Carabao Cup game with Nottingham Forest.
Lopetegui cut a frustrated figure in the first-half of that match, and some of his frustrations were directed towards Guedes.
Asked about his omission yesterday, Lopetegui said: “It was a tactical decision. Guedes is our player. Today I made a decision. Tomorrow I can change the decision of course.”
This will now be a very interesting situation to watch unfold.
Guedes only joined Wolves last summer. It was reported he cost an initial £27.5 million from Valencia.
He came in as one of the club’s marquee signings, and there was a lot of hype considering the club had chased him for some time.
But he has struggled with the transition, and he’s only scored two goals so far.
Some supporters have found him difficult to warm to. And it would appear, given his minutes recently, Lopetegui feels a similar kind of way.
It hasn’t worked out for Goncalo Guedes at Wolves so far, and the next couple of weeks will be interesting after West Ham snub
So Guedes missed out altogether yesterday, which was a real statement from Lopetegui.
Clearly the manager is not happy with what he’s seeing from the 25-year-old.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t really been an improvement in Guedes since the Spaniard came in. And that’s not a particularly great look considering players similar to him positionally, like Hwang Hee-chan and Adama Traore, have gotten better. Specifically, they have become more workmanlike.
It will be fascinating to see what happens with him over the next couple of weeks.
Matheus Cunha has come in now, and that’s more competition for Guedes.
Perhaps he’ll be allowed out on loan. Or maybe Wolves will even look to sell.
That would be a shame, because he is clearly a huge talent given what he showed at Valencia. But it’s just not working right now, so it’ll be very interesting to see what the club decides.