It is always interesting to see how a managerial change will affect certain players – and one star who struggled to convince under Gary O’Neil is now looking like an undroppable for Wolves.
Wolves recorded a huge win yesterday in the Premier League, beating Bournemouth 1-0.
Vitor Pereira was without the likes of Emmanuel Agbadou, Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan, but still came away with three big points.
Matheus Cunha was the match winner for Wolves, scoring after Bournemouth went down to 10 men when Illia Zabarnyi was sent off.
Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy all felt the decision was harsh on Bournemouth, but Wolves made their advantage count.
Cunha has grabbed the headlines as expected.
But there was another Brazilian out there yesterday who really shone in old gold.
- READ MORE: Wolves fortunate with key decision in Bournemouth win as former PGMOL chief hints at error
The stats that show Andre shone for Wolves against Bournemouth
Andre was starting once again in midfield for Wolves, along side his compatriot Joao Gomes.
The pair are the clear favourites under Vitor Pereira, and have struck up a brilliant parternship.
Against Bournemouth, Andre provided really control as the holding midfielder, and also worked really hard defensively.
As per Sofascore data, he completed 46/52 (88%) passes.
He also won two out of the four duels he contested, and finished the game with three defensive actions to his name (two clearances, one tackle).
This followed another top performance from Andre against Liverpool.
Andre is the new Joao Moutinho for Wolves
Wolves fans are now finally seeing what Andre is really all about, having taken some time to settle at Molineux.
It was tricky for him in the beginning, with the player not particularly seen as integral by former manager Gary O’Neil.
O’Neil handed him just 10 starts in the Premier League before he was sacked after the defeat to Ipswich Town. On six of these starts, Andre did not play the full 90 minutes.
After the defeat to Manchester City back in October, O’Neil said Andre struggled with the ‘detail’ of that game, after taking him off at half-time.
Andre certainly doesn’t seem to be struggling with the details of games now under Pereira, who is clearly a big fan of the South American, starting him in nine of his 10 Premier League games in charge so far.
The one game he missed was because he had been granted special leave by the club.
| Andre for Wolves in 2024/25 so far |
| Appearances – 23 |
| Yellow/red cards – 3/0 |
| Pass accuracy – 92% |
| Percentage of dribblers tackled – 60% |
Watching him, it is hard not to think about how he resembles Joao Moutinho, who is one of the finest players ever to wear the Wolves shirt.
Moutinho was known for being a classy operator in midfielder. He was someone who was technically brilliant, rarely waste a pass and made the game just look easy at times. But he could also get stuck in.
Andre is very much a player of that same ilk. He holds his own in midfield, dictating the tempo of games while also being tenacious.
Perhaps he may not be at Wolves for as long as Moutinho was. But certainly, the similarities in terms of play style are there.