Fans are patiently waiting to discover who the next captain will be at Wolves, with Nelson Semedo’s exit now all but confirmed.
Vitor Pereira has said Wolves are now looking at replacing Semedo, in what was an ominous update on the Portuguese defender.
Nelson Semedo has still not yet actually communicated his decision, after becoming a free agent 20 days ago.
Semedo has had a four-year contract offer on the table from Wolves, but it has become clear recently that he will not sign it and Pereira’s comments all but point to the player’s exit being confirmed.
His exit now means that Pereira must now choose a new captain.
And the head coach has now spoken about this very important decision.
Vitor Pereira shares what he’s looking for in Wolves’ next captain
The captaincy at Wolves has become something of a ‘curse’ in recent times, with players who end up in the role then being sold.
Wolves lost Ruben Neves and Max Kilman after they wore the armband for one season, and Mario Lemina left the club after just half a campaign after taking the armband.
Pereira knows it is a big decision, and he has now shared where he’s up to in his process.
He told the E&S: “Now, when I need to select the captains, I give time. I’m not hurrying, I’m looking.
“I’m trying to be aware, to understand and I listen to players, trying to have a good decision to select the captains.
“It’s more than what we think about it. Imagine, I ask you, what do you think? What do you feel? Who are the leaders here?
“Sometimes I ask you and you have an opinion and I ask him and he has another opinion. I need the information, I need to think about it.
“It’s like my staff. When I started my career, sometimes they start to give their opinion and they speak too loud because they want to affirm that this is the right thing.
“Do you know what I do now? When they start to speak and to have different opinions, I leave the meeting and I go for a coffee.
“They stay there talking, because they have a lot of energy, in the end I’m here to listen and in the end I decide.
“Sometimes you need to give space. You need to give space to go out of the box, to analyse everything, to have a decision.”
Toti Gomes and Matt Doherty wore the armband for Wolves for a half each against Santa Clara.
But against Burnley on Saturday in the latest behind-closed-doors friendly, Toti Gomes was captain for the whole match.
This was particularly interesting, because Doherty also started the game. It may well indicate that Toti is currently in pole position for the role.
- READ MORE: Toti Gomes reveals what Conor Coady told him that transformed his game at Wolves, ‘I learned that…’
A big moment for Toti Gomes at Wolves
It is unsurprising that Pereira has not yet decided who Wolves’ captain will be.
Obviously the Semedo situation has been rumbling on, although it now appears to be over and a new captain will indeed need choosing.
But there is also no obvious candidate, so Pereira does need a bit of time to see how people are carrying themselves in pre-season.
But it’s certainly a big moment for Toti, who appears to be the favourite at the moment having now worn the armband for one-and-a-half games.
| Toti Gomes for Wolves (2020-present) |
| Appearances – 101 |
Toti wore the armband on his 100th appearance for Wolves against Crystal Palace in the Premier League, and he may well hope to assume the role full-time.
It would certainly be a brilliant story, with Toti having been signed by Wolves five years ago and immediately sent on loan to Grasshoppers for 18 months.
He returned and spent a lot of time warming the bench initially for Wolves, before establishing himself as a regular from the Julen Lopetegui appointment onwards