Guedes ‘An Unlikely Redemption Story’ in Wolves Season
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ campaign only looked to be heading one way after the sales of Pedro Neto and Max Kilman to Chelsea and West Ham United respectively, with the club largely failing to replace the duo until the final few days in the market – but a secret weapon that Gary O’Neil already had in his squad could be unleashed this season, with the i reporting that winger Goncalo Guedes could be the man to be their saviour this campaign, with a ‘redemption story’ for the former Portugal star on the cards.
Wolves, who also sold the likes of Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes last season, have not had it easy when it comes to transfers over the past two years with some extremely sought-after stars leaving the club. It is arguably their toughest period yet in the top-flight since they came up under Nuno Espirito Santo in 2018, and current stars will be relied on to drag them out of a relegation scrap. And one of those could be Guedes, who has started well this summer to offer an unlikely hand.
Guedes ‘Could be Redemption Story’ For Wolves
The winger hasn’t featured regularly but could be a key player
Writing in the i newspaper, reporter Daniel Storey predicted that Guedes could be a huge redemption story for Wolves in the coming campaign. He stated:
“Are we heading towards one of the more unlikely redemption stories in the Premier League?
“In August 2022, Wolves signed Goncalo Guedes for a fee of £28m from Valencia. After only eight starts, he joined Benfica on loan during the January transfer window of the same season. By August 2023, he was back at Benfica but fell out of favour there and so Wolves loaned him to Villarreal instead. It goes without saying: at no point did any Wolves fan miss him.
“Cut to August 2024, with Guedes returning from loan and, surprisingly, staying put. Last Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, Guedes started up front against Burnley and scored twice. Against Forest this weekend, he entered the pitch for a Premier League game for the first time since Boxing Day 2022.
“Like a new signing? No. But maybe a decent option off the bench? Why not.”
Goncalo Guedes Has Evident Quality
The winger has a huge array of clubs in his locker
Wolves have had huge turnover in their ranks this summer, and with Neto having joined Chelsea in the summer, Guedes will feel like a new signing to some extent.
Carlos Forbs has been brought in from Ajax to counteract his exit to Stamford Bridge, but Guedes does boast vast quality and as a result, he could be crucial for the west Midlands outfit heading into the rest of the campaign.
Two goals against Burnley and an appearance against Nottingham Forest has shown that Guedes does have quality, having made his debut for Benfica back in the 2014/15 season before venturing on to French champions Paris Saint-Germain and Valencia – the latter with which he enjoyed his best football so far in his career.
A season-high best of 11 La Liga goals in the 2021/22 season was enough for Wolves to tempt him to Molineux with a £90,000-per-week deal, though a slow first season saw him go back out on loan to Benfica and Villarreal respectively.
