Wolves fans have been discussing the possibility of a formation change, after the club’s awful start to the new season.
Right now, Wolves are bottom of the Premier League and have conceded 21 goals.
That rate of three a game is a very alarming rate, and a solution needs to be found as quickly as possible.
After the latest defeat to Brentford, Gary O’Neil strongly hinted that he would be open to going to a back three with wing-backs.
He did that last season against Manchester City at Molineux – which just so happens to be Wolves’ next game – and it proved to be the catalyst for a good season.
Potentially, the Wolves manager could do the same again after the international break – and this could be the making of one of the club’s summer signings.
Rodrigo Gomes off to a slow start at Wolves
It has been a somewhat frustrating start to the new season for Wolves’ very first signing of the summer Rodrigo Gomes.
The youngster signed from Braga for around £12.7 million, after being one of the best players in the Portuguese top-flight last term on loan at Estoril. Wolves managed to sign Rodrigo despite a hijack attempt by Roma, with Atletico Madrid having also been linked,
Estoril came 13th in the league, and Rodrigo certainly made some great contributions. In total, he made 36 appearances, and scored a very impressive nine goals. He also made eight assists.
Wolves wingers’ minutes played in all competitions – 2024/25
| Rodrigo Gomes | Hwang Hee-chan | Jean-Ricner Bellegarde | Carlos Forbs | Goncalo Guedes | Pablo Sarabia |
| 206 | 352 | 422 | 137 | 223 | 153 |
But so far for Wolves this season, Rodrigo has yet to open his account for goals or assists, and has played just 116 minutes in the Premier League. He did play the full 90 against Brighton in the Carabao Cup.
But opportunities have been few and far between so far, for a player who genuinely looked really lively in pre-season.
Wolves have a number of options to play in the wide areas at the moment, but seemingly he has work to do to convince O’Neil to play him more.
Rodrigo Gomes could thrive as a wing-back for Wolves
Rodrigo is naturally a winger. But last term he was deployed mainly as a right wing-back – and it was a position that really suited the 21-year-old.
That’s because Rodrigo is very energetic and able to get up and down the pitch well. As evidenced by his numbers last season, he can make things happen in the final third.
But he also has good defensive work-rate. Sporting director Matt Hobbs described him as ‘feisty’ and a player with ‘great determination’ (via Wolves official), which are traits that make him useful as a wing-back.
If O’Neil is indeed thinking about changing to a back three with wing-backs, this could genuinely help Rodrigo see a bit more involvement.
Of course, we all know the manager loves Nelson Semedo, who was a player O’Neil was desperate to keep at Wolves.
But the 30-year-old is no stranger to playing on the right of a three. That could be something that allows Rodrigo to play as the wing-back.
Or, Rodrigo could even be considered to play ahead of Semedo if the former Barcelona man is not in form, which can be argued is the case right now.
Many Wolves fans would love to see him a bit more, especially after those exciting early signs in pre-season. Hopefully, he will be able to kick on after the international break.