The rise of Vitinha since he left Wolves has certainly caught the attention of the football world.
The midfielder is now on the books at Paris Saint-Germain, and finds himself being spoken about as one of the best players in his position in the game right now.
He has enjoyed an incredible journey over the past few years, and it all started after Wolves declined to sign Vitinha.
Vitinha had spent he 2020/21 season on loan at Molineux, and Wolves could have purchased him from FC Porto for around £17 million.
But Wolves didn’t take the risk on Vitinha, with the player not convincing during his spell.
Nuno Espirito Santo recently suggested Joao Moutinho was a barrier to minutes for Vitinha.
But according to former Wolves defender Marcal, so was something else.
Vitinha didn’t play quickly enough in Wolves training despite doing ‘incredible things’
Vitinha is now a top midfielder for PSG.
One of the best things about him is his ability to retain the ball, and his comfort when faced with a press.
The star’s technical quality in those tight midfield areas is bettered by very few players. But according to Marcal, he used to struggle with this at Wolves, and that cause Nuno Espirito Santo to be ‘difficult’ with him.
He said in an interview with L’Equipe about the player: “The coach was difficult with him. Even though he did incredible things in training, he couldn’t convince him.
“Santo wanted Vitinha to play simple, to release the ball more quickly. He tried to comply, but he also didn’t want to lose his identity.”
Wolves’ Vitinha fumble is a great shame
There is an argument to say that Vitinha would not be as good as he is today had he actually completed a permanent move to Wolves.
But certainly, watching him for PSG and even when he went back to Porto, Wolves’ decision doesn’t look good.
But seemingly, he just didn’t play in the way Nuno wanted him to, and that cost him regular minutes.
He was always going to be up against it competing with Ruben Neves and Moutinho.
So him not fully compromising and doing what Nuno wanted him to meant the opportunities ultimately just weren’t there for him.
It’s a real shame, because Vitinha is such a brilliant player and likely would have still been great in a Wolves shirt.
But it’s all good, because Wolves ultimately managed to replace Neves and Moutinho with two amazing central midfielders in Joao Gomes and Andre.