One of Gary O’Neil’s summer signings has already started to turn heads at Wolves ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Full focus is on Wolves’ pre-season tour of the United States, as the Old Gold touched down in America on Tuesday.
In the States, Gary O’Neil’s side will battle West Ham, Crystal Palace and RB Leipzig, in three high-quality friendlies ahead of the upcoming campaign.
The tour will be the perfect chance for the manager to assess his squad, including the three new faces who have arrived over the summer.
- READ MORE: Wolves’ pre-season fixtures 2024: Who the Old Gold are playing, how to get tickets and more
Wolves signing Pedro Lima has already started to impress in pre-season
One of the players who made the move to Molineux this summer is Pedro Lima, who signed for the club on his 18th birthday.
The right-back’s move to Chelsea was hijacked by Wolves, seeing him join O’Neil’s project from Brazilian second-tier club, Sport Recife.
As expected from a teenager with little senior experience, journalist Liam Keen admitted he had some reservations about Lima’s arrival however, his initial thoughts have changed after seeing the defender in action.
Speaking on The Keen and Judah Show about what he saw at the training camp in Marbella, the Wolves expert praised the talent that O’Neil acquired in Lima.
“The biggest concerns from him [Lima] is that he is young, he is moving to a new country and then you look at him, he’s not overly tall, he’s not big, he’s a slender frame, which you’d expect considering his age.
“I felt it was right and fair to preach a little bit of caution that you’ve got to expect of someone of his age coming to the Premier League.
“Quite quickly, he started to change my mind, watching him in training and watching him against Como, I see a forward-thinking right-back.
“He held his own physically, he wasn’t afraid of a tackle, he was very quick going forward, very dynamic and exciting. Good positioning never got caught out defensively, I think it’s quite promising and exciting signs.”
It’s encouraging to hear such an assessment from the journalist, who was present at Wolves’ training camp in Marbella, with Keen reinforcing the reasons why the club deemed it essential to hijack Chelsea’s move.
Lima will be one to watch next season
Despite being only 18 years old, it’s clear that O’Neil wants to fast-track Lima to the first team, as the boss has seen something he’s unable to ignore in the defender.
Added to his huge potential, it’s integral that the defender grows with Premier League experience, with him being a mouldable player at the start of his development at senior level.
It will be interesting to see what the 2024/25 campaign holds for the Brazilian, who could challenge the likes of Nelson Semedo and Matt Doherty for game time at right-back.
What is for sure is that O’Neil is the perfect coach to lure Lima out of his shell, with the future looking to be astoundingly bright at Wolves for the teen.