Matt Hobbs has given a fascinating interview about Pedro Lima and explained why Wolves were able to beat Chelsea to the youngster.
On Tuesday evening, Lima became Wolves’ fourth summer addition.
Striker Jorgen Strand Larsen was announced earlier in the day, joining the club on loan from Celta Vigo. Wolves will turn that move permanent once he’s made a certain number of appearances.
Lima then followed, with the club releasing a brilliant announcement video.
Lima is a young player with big potential and is expected to challenge for a first-team spot. It may well be that he gets some minutes with the U21s initially. But he is very much seen as a potential first-teamer.
Last night, Wolves also shared some comments made by sporting director Matt Hobbs – and it is now very clear how and why Wanderers lured him out of Chelsea’s clutches.
Matt Hobbs says Pedro Lima was sold on Wolves’ ‘pathway, opportunity and connection’
It had looked as though Lima was going to seal a move to Chelsea.
The Blues had an agreement in place and seemingly, he was then going to be loaned to French club Strasbourg, who are also owned by BlueCo.
But Wolves scuppered the deal.
Hobbs says that Wolves did not pretend to be something they’re not in negotiations with the player. It was just made clear to Lima that he would have a clear pathway.
Hobbs said (Wolves official): “There was lots of competition, and I don’t mean this in an arrogant way at all, but had we been able to do it straight away, then there wouldn’t have been any [competition].
“Ben Wrigglesworth [head of scouting] went out and sat down with him, presented him the plan, how we saw him, the work we’d done on him and showed him the project.
“Being the only club who flew out not to negotiate or talk about money, but show him the plan, I think he really brought into Ben and they built a really good rapport.
“We are a club that sells our project through pathway, opportunity and connection, while other clubs use different tools like location, size and money. Luckily what appeals to Pedro is who and what we are.”
Lima’s reasons for joining are refreshing
The comments from Hobbs about how Wolves were able to sign Lima ahead of Chelsea are extremely refreshing.
There is always going to be temptation for young players to join the top and most successful clubs in England because of things like money and location.
But seemingly, Lima is not motivated by those things. Sure, he is no doubt going to be well-paid by Wolves. But you would imagine he would have earned more, or at least eventually earned a lot more, at Chelsea.
Hobbs’ interview makes for interesting reading. You do get the sense that Lima has really bought into Wolves’ project, and head of scouting Ben Wrigglesworth must come in for a lot of credit here for the role he played in selling it.