Wolves have tested themselves against fellow Premier League opposition in Portugal today, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw.
Vitor Pereira’s men have been in Portugal for the last week to prepare for the upcoming Premier League season, and Burnley were their second fixture while away in the Iberian nation.
It was an improved result from their last match against Santa Clara, a game they lost 2-1, so it shows there are areas that have improved over the last few days, while there are still areas to be bettered before the start of the season.
The signing of Jhon Arias will help in the attacking department, while Fer Lopez continued his impressive start in a Wolves jersey after impressing in training.
However, there was one player who particularly impressed despite having been on the fringes last season.
Wolves outcast Sasa Kalajdzic impressed against Burnley
Sasa Kalajdzic missed all of last season due to an ACL injury he suffered while on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt, and now in this friendly has shown he is aiming to fight for his place in the Wolves team.
The Austrian international was a player that impressed during the friendly with Burnley, as he found ‘a number of threatening positions’ throughout according to the club website, but was unable to add to the scoreline after he replaced goal scorer Jorgen Strand Larsen.
This may help ease concerns or the need for Wolves to dip further into the transfer market for players to provide competition for the Norwegian if Kalajdzic can continue on from this fine start to his 2025/26 season.
It was a good run-out for the player, as 22 of the squad got a run-out, once again demonstrating the importance seen by Pereira in getting minutes in the legs and individuals firing before the season instead of securing wins.
Sasa Kalajdzic on his return with Wolves
The Austrian striker endured a tough season last year, as he was unable to feature due to the long-term ACL injury; however, he is now determined to be part of the setup under Pereira.
Kalajdzic spoke to the club website on Tuesday after his goal and first match back in the gold of Wolves about how he was feeling going into the season and the ambition he has to perform after recovering from injury.
He said: “It was a really good feeling, after a long, long time, just kicking the ball with my mates in an unofficial, but for me, more official game.
“I’m just happy that everything went well. In terms of fitness, I gained more minutes; I played with the others to get to know them again more and more on the pitch.
“For me personally, it was a really, really good next step.
“There is a long, long pre-season to go, and a lot more games. My goals will go higher, and my ambitions will go higher with that, but for now, I’m really happy.”