Wolves are expecting the arrival of Andre on Deadline Day as a fee was agreed between the Old Gold and Fluminense.
While Gary O’Neil’s side were busy progressing to the third round of the Carabao Cup, it was announced that the club had reached an agreement to sign Andre.
The Fluminense midfielder is poised to make the move to the Premier League on Deadline Day, with a £21m fee agreed between the Brazilian club and Wolves.
Andre will undergo his Wolves medical on Friday before signing his contract, with Matt Hobbs set to pull off an incredibly impressive acquisition.
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Brazilian football expert shares verdict on Wolves target Andre
Ahead of Andre’s proposed Deadline Day move to Wolves, Molineux News spoke to Brazilian journalist Rogerio Amaral Junior to gain insight into the player.
What type of player is Andre?
“André is a player with characteristics very similar to Casemiro. He plays as the first midfield man, his strong point is marking and good use of passes.”
The Brazil international can certainly add some distributional strength to O’Neil’s midfield as Junior explained, with the statistics only confirming such statement.
As per FBref, no midfielder in the 2024 Brazilian Serie A averaged a higher pass completion rate per 90 than Andre, who recorded a stellar success rate of 94.3%.
“He usually tries to pass forward and not to the sides,” Junior added, “He can also be adapted to play as a defender.”
How is Andre viewed in Brazil?
Wolves were actually linked to Andre last summer, as per Bolavip however, Junior explained why a transfer was not on the cards for the midfielder in 2023.
“Here in Brazil, we believe it was a good deal. Fluminense didn’t want to sell him in 2023 because of the Libertadores campaign, and they managed to win the title. Now the value was a little lower, but still very good.”
In 2023, Andre earned his first call-up to represent the Selecao under former manager Ramon Menezes as a result of his top performances at Fluminense.
Since his debut, the 23-year-old has earned five caps for Brazil, which Junior backed to become a regular occurrence for the Wolves target in the near future.
“He is a player with quality for the Brazilian team. He has not yet established himself among those called up, sometimes he is called, sometimes not. But he is seen as an athlete with the potential to be among the 23 in Brazil.”
Can Andre play with Joao Gomes at Wolves?
The question that Wolves fans will be asking about Andre is whether he is compatible with Joao Gomes in a midfield pivot.
When asked about the possibility of the duo combining in midfield at Molineux, Junior explained the circumstances that could see the pair thrive.
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“I think they both [Andre and Gomes] have similar characteristics. Perhaps it would only make sense to have both of them as starters if the coach wants to set up the team in a more defensive way.”
The journalist’s advice would make perfect sense if O’Neil were to revert to a back five, enhancing the importance of the defensive pivot in the middle of the park.
A formational change could present the Brazilian stars with the perfect conditions to grow as a partnership, in what is an exciting prospect for many to behold.