Emmanuel Agbadou changed the game for Wolves when he first came in last season.
Wanderers made a horrendous start to 2024/25 under Gary O’Neil, and the team looked like it could concede three or four times in any given game.
The situation was extremely alarming, and O’Neil simply had to go when he did.
O’Neil has said he’d have loved to make it to January, but conceded he just didn’t earn the right.
Vitor Pereira came in, and his objective was very clear; keep Wolves in the Premier League. And to give him the best chance of doing that, he had to improve the defence.
And Pereira struck gold with the signing of Emmanuel Agbadou from Reims, with the Ivorian arriving and adding steel and authority to the backline.
After just a few games, Agbadou scooped Wolves’ Player of the Month award for January, underlining what a great impact he’d made.
More top performances followed and in the end, Wolves survived comfortably.
But this season it’s been a different story for Agbadou – and now Pereira has given his take on his star defender’s dip in form.
Vitor Pereira admits Emmanuel Agbadou is ‘not playing at his level’ and must simplify his game for Wolves
There were warning signs with Agbadou in pre-season, with the 28-year-old putting in a string of sub-par performances.
True judgement was reserved for the 2025/26 season though, with many hoping Agbadou – who cost just over £16 million (BBC Sport) – would buck up his ideas.
But frustratingly that hasn’t happened.
Barring one decent display against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup, Agbadou has really struggled for Wolves and looks a shadow of the player that first arrived at Molineux.
On the dip in form Pereira suggested he is not worried, saying (via E&S): “I understand that this league is one where we face a striker today and then tomorrow we’ll face another striker with different skills.
“It’s a league with top quality and we must be ready. Agbadou must be ready to face these kind of problems.
“No (I’m not concerned), I know what he can do for us.”
Agbadou has been accused by fans of being sloppy on the ball, and also lacking urgency and focus at times.
So what does Pereira think he needs to do to improve? The Wolves manager added: “He needs to simplify things.
“He’s not playing at his level but I believe he can play at this level because he’s a top player. He has very high standards.
“But at this moment, what we need is to simplify the game, to play simple, to play as a defender.”
- READ MORE: Who is Emmanuel Agbadou? Everything you need to know about Wolves’ commanding centre-back
Agbadou should fear Andre treatment
Agbadou’s start to the season has been very alarming.
The drop-off compared to last term has been huge, and he cannot continue to produce such performances if he wants to stay in the team.
Pereira recently shocked fans by dropping Andre, a move designed to light a fire beneath the Brazilian, with the manager insisting that no one’s places in this team are gifts.
Agbadou must fear the Andre treatment at the moment.
Yes, he’s got a lot of credit in the bank. But Wolves have brought in Ladislav Krejci, and Yerson Mosquera is also looking for minutes. Santiago Bueno has also quietly had a positive start to the season.
So he’s got to improve quickly, despite this positive backing from Pereira.