It was some comeback from Wolves against Southampton on Saturday.
The Midlands outfit were 2-0 down at half-time against the Saints, but a different team came out after the interval. In the second 45 minutes, they scored three goals, with Pedro Neto netting the first and Raul Jimenez then scoring a brace to grab the spoils for the away side.
The former put in a fantastic display. Aged 19, this was just the fourth Premier League start of his career, and he did not look out of place. Along with the goal he scored, he also made one key pass and won three of the five ground duels he contested. Add on the two fouls he won for his side, and he was clearly a handful for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men.
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And that performance highlighted why Wolves don’t actually need one of their reported targets, Thomas Lemar. The 24-year-old has struggled to make a real impact at Atletico Madrid since making his move to the Wanda Metropolitan – scoring just three times in 18 months – but his performances at AS Monaco, where he recorded 22 assists in his last two Ligue 1 seasons, show he has real quality.
Indeed, Lemar has been linked with a move to Wolves over the past couple of weeks, but Le10Sport have announced that he will not be departing Los Rojiblancos, having decided to stay with the La Liga club at least until the summer.
Given he also has 22 caps for France, this could be seen as a blow, but with Neto showing so much promise with an energetic display against Southampton, spending significant money on Lemar – Transfermarkt value him at £27m – seems like a waste.
Wolves are yet to make any signings this window, and whilst their attacking cohort probably does need extra depth following the sale of Patrick Cutrone, a big name like Lemar just feels unnecessary, not least because it would likely affect the game-time of a teenage talent who is already showing he can do it in the Premier League.
If Nuno continues to give Neto chances and he continues to make the most of them, then the latest on Lemar could prove to be more of a blessing than a blow for Wolves – a talented player on their hands, and valuable money saved.
Elsewhere, Wolves fans react to Tim Spiers’ transfer update.