Julen Lopetegui revealed why Pedro Neto was not a part of the matchday squad yesterday for Wolves to face Bournemouth.
Wanderers fell to a 1-0 defeat at Molineux, in what was perhaps the most disappointing performance and result of the Lopetegui era so far.
Bournemouth offered very little offensively. But the Cherries were still able to find a breakthrough in the second-half when Marcus Tavernier turned in a cross.
Wolves had plenty of the ball and had 16 attempts in the game in the end.
But there was just that lack of quality again in the final third.
It’s something fans have been used to seeing this season. Things looked to have improved of late, but Wolves went back to old habits yesterday.
Lopetegui made changes in the hope someone would be able to show some quality. But it wasn’t to be.
One man he could not call on yesterday was Neto, who wasn’t actually part of the matchday squad in the end.
The youngster was on the bench for the Southampton game. He then got minutes and scored a goal for the U21s on Monday.
On the winger’s absence, Lopetegui said: “We had to choose. He’s been out for four months and step by step he is improving his fitness.
“It’s not enough to play. He played 45 minutes in an under-21 match and he’s improving.
“We’re waiting for him, of course, but we chose Daniel Podence as he was fit and not Pedro.
“We are waiting for him because for me, he is going to be an important player for us for the rest of the season.”
Wolves need Pedro Neto back and firing, as goalscoring issues remain
So first-team minutes are still in the offing for Neto.
It is understandable that Lopetegui did not select him against Bournemouth given how long he was on the sidelines for.
And with Podence having been deemed fit, it was perhaps always unlikely he’d be able to sit on the bench.
Hopefully Neto isn’t too far away from being able to play some minutes for the first-team now.
Wanderers could really do with having him back and at the level he was showing in the 2020/21 season, before he suffered that knee injury.
Whether the £16 million man will be able to get back to that kind of form remains to be seen, but Wolves need someone who can provide that moment of quality in the final third.