Wolves are safe from relegation, and that means Vitor Pereira has the freedom to explore other options in his squad.
Wolves confirmed their safety last weekend, as they beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Very few Wolves fans would have anticipated the club becoming safe with five games left to play, given how bad things were around the Christmas period.
But Vitor Pereira has done a tremendous job so far, and fans can now watch games without fear of the club’s fate.
Recently, Pereira hinted that he will look to change things up for Wolves, and perhaps try new tactics and combinations.
There are players in Wolves’ squad right now who need opportunities to show what they can do.
The likes of Tommy Doyle, Hwang Hee-chan, Rodrigo Gomes, Boubacar Traore and Nasser Djiga will all be looking for more minutes.
But Pereira may also look to get some of the younger players involved – and one man who could soon make his debut is Bastien Meupiyou.
- READ MORE: Who is Bastien Meupiyou? Everything you need to know about Wolves’ young French centre-back
Bastien Meupiyou may soon make Wolves debut
A couple of days before the transfer deadline last summer, Wolves completed a move for Bastien Meupiyou from Nantes.
Meupiyou cost just over £4 million, and was a signing made for the future.
Maximilian Kilman had left the club beforehand, but Meupiyou was never intended to be a replacement.
Meupiyou actually arrived at Wolves carrying an injury, but has been training with the first-team squad for months now – and it feels like his debut could be on the cards.
Wolves are safe, so there is surely scope for Meupiyou to get his first taste of Premier League action.
Toti Gomes has been a breath of fresh air under Pereira. But the Portuguese ought to be rested soon.
He has played every minute of the last 10 Premier League games for Wolves, and also played 120 minutes against Bournemouth in the FA Cup fifth round, and 90 against Blackburn Rovers in the third round.
Toti should be afforded a well-deserved break – and Meupiyou feels like a decent option to replace him.
What Matt Hobbs said about Bastien Meupiyou
It would be good to see a bit of Meupiyou before the season is out.
Reporter Liam Keen said in November that Meupiyou would start making matchday squads for Wolves ‘soon’. That did happen, with the youngster making five consecutive squads shortly after that claim, including four under Pereira. But he is yet to make his debut for Wolves.
He feels like a good replacement for Toti, with Matt Hobbs saying when the player first signed: “I think Bastien’s got a huge amount of potential. Obviously, he had some time out last season with a knee injury, so we’ll take our time with him, but he has an incredibly high ceiling and we’re excited to help develop him.
“He’s very physical, very strong, very quick. But also, he’s played lot at six, a lot at left back as well. It’s not often you can find a big, physical profile that comes with the ability to play on the ball and to play in all those positions.
“He fits what we think a Premier League player looks like. There’s no pressure on him, he’s a young boy, and we’ll look forward to seeing how he develops the next couple of years.”
As he can play left-back and centre-back, surely that ‘Toti role’ is ideal for him. Hopefully, he’ll show enough in training now to encourage Pereira to finally hand him his debut.