There was some surprise when Wolves loaned out Pedro Lima to FC Porto late on transfer deadline day.
He had looked on course to stay at Molineux, but official word his move arrived after the 7pm deadline.
Pedro Lima had been due to stay at Wolves. But he has missed out on a call up to the Brazil U20 squad for the World Cup that takes place in September and October.
As a result of that, Wolves have sent Lima out on loan, with Porto swooping.
The move does not include any loan fee, and Porto also do not have an option to buy Lima. It’s also been claimed that Wolves have a recall option on the player, which can be exercised in January.
Initially, the plan is apparently for Lima to play with Porto’s B team.
But it looks like there could be an early opportunity for Lima.
Pedro Lima set for early first-team chance at Porto
Fans were left disappointed by Lima joining Porto on loan.
Some had been hoping to see him increase his minutes at Molineux, having only made a handful of appearances last season.
But with Wolves keeping Ki-Jana Hoever, and the club also bringing in Jackson Tchatchoua, it was perhaps always a possibility that Lima would leave temporarily.
And there could be an early opportunity for Lima over in Portugal.
Because A Bola has reported that the Portuguese giants are dealing with injuries to their first choice right-back options.
Alberto has a muscle injury, and will miss at least the weekend clash with Nacional, and Martim Fernandes is still recovering from a knee ligament issue and won’t be back until October.
Lima therefore is in contention to play.
He has already been training with the first-team, and it would seem his arrival at the club was timely.
Lima must seize opportunity
It is a big season for Lima, who will be looking to further his development significantly at Porto.
Seemingly, his first-team debut looks to be much closer than anticipated as a result of the injuries.
And that is good news for Wolves, who need Lima to get as many minutes as he can so that he can return to the club a much better player.
There are still high hopes for Lima at Molineux.
It hasn’t quite happened for him yet, but hopefully this loan move will be the making of him and he can come back and thrive.