Rodrigo Gomes makes demand of Vitor Pereira Wolves fans everywhere will get behind

Rodrigo Gomes has spoken ahead of Wolves’ return to Premier League action against Sunderland – and fans will certainly back one thing he’s said.

Wanderers are now heading for an extremely important next couple of weeks.

After taking just two points from the first seven league games, Wolves now face two newly-promoted sides in Sunderland and Burnley.

Matt Jarvis reckons a haul of four points should be the minimum for Wolves, but fans are really hoping it will be six. Certainly, not taking into account form, six points would be the expectation.

Vitor Pereira feels his Wolves players have grown in confidence after the performances against Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton. But this game against Sunderland will be a test.

As ever, Pereira’s team selection will be fascinating – but one man who really hopes to be starting is Rodrigo Gomes.

Rodrigo Gomes sends message to Vitor Pereira amid lack of minutes

Rodrigo is in a bit of a strange place at the moment.

The 22-year-old has scored a couple of goals already this term, but is still very much on the fringes at Molineux.

In terms of minutes played across all competitions, he is one of the least-used players so far – only Ki-Jana Hoever, David Moller Wolfe, Fer Lopez, Tolu Arokodare and Yerson Mosquera have spent less time on the pitch than Rodrigo in 2025/26.

Fans have been left perplexed by Rodrigo’s lack of opportunities, despite looking lively when he’s been called upon.

But although he could be forgiven for expressing his frustration, Rodrigo is defiant and determined.

Sending a message to Pereira ahead of the game with Sunderland, he said (via Wolves official): “It’s not been the start that you wanted, but I’ve scored two goals and I’m happy for that, but I want to do more, I want to score more, I want to play more, I want to assist more, and I’m working on that. I’m giving 100 per cent every day to show that.

“It’s all about giving everything every day, in the practice, in the match. If I play 90 minutes or if I play nine minutes, I want to give everything. That’s my thing. I always give everything, so I need to keep doing that, but I also need to improve my game.”

• READ MORE: Who is Rodrigo Gomes? The Portuguese winger destined to become a Molineux fan-favourite

Rodrigo deserves more minutes for Wolves

It has been surprising and also slightly frustrating to see Rodrigo having such little involvement so far. Especially since he’s bagged a couple of goals and looked sharp.

Pereira has shown he is not afraid to change things up in pursuit of that winning formula, tweaking the system and turning to a centre-back pairing of Krejci and Bueno.

But he still seems reluctant to call on Rodrigo, who ought to be considered for the right wing against Sunderland this weekend.

This is becoming harder to accept when you see the likes of Jhon Arias – who admittedly has been getting better recently – and Hwang Hee-chan lacking influence for Wolves.

We know that Pereira likes tall and physical players. Rodrigo, of course, is neither of these things, but he surely deserves a bit more of a chance moving forward.