Gary O’Neil told Wolves are ‘crying out’ for him to start ‘very talented’ ace vs Newcastle United
Wolves return from the international break with their backs against the wall after taking just one point from their first three matches in the Premier League.
Gary O’Neil’s men were beaten by Arsenal and Chelsea before securing their first point on the board in a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
New signings Sam Johnstone and Jorgen Strand Larsen were handed starts for Wolves while Brazilian midfielder Andre appeared from the bench for the final four minutes.
Sadly, not all of O’Neil’s new additions were involved as one promising player was an unused substitute at the City Ground.
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Rodrigo Gomes time at Wolves so far
Wolves captured versatile winger Rodrigo Gomes for £12.7 million from Braga, becoming their first signing of the summer.
The Portuguese under-21 international impressed for the Old Gold in pre-season as he showcased his searing pace and trickery in wide areas.
Gomes was awarded a start against Arsenal as a result and looked dangerous each time Wolves sprung forward on the counter-attack but since then, he’s only featured for 22 minutes, coming off the bench in the 6-2 loss against Chelsea.
The 21-year-old was an unused substitute in the Carabao Cup victory over Burnley and in the draw against Forest, a decision that journalists Nathan Judah and Liam Keen felt was harsh on the youngster.
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Wolves are ‘crying out’ for Gary O’Neil to start Rodrigo Gomes vs Newcastle
Speaking on The Keen & Judah show, the two Wolves experts believe that O’Neil is ‘crying out’ for someone to get into the box from wide areas and score goals.
Keen labelled the Portuguese youngster as ‘very talented’ while Judah believes Gomes possesses the attributes to become a real asset when arriving late into the box.
“There is also a goal scorer by the way, who arrives late,” he said. “Wolves have been crying out for someone to do that and make the runs necessary, and then you’ve got someone and you’re not using him.
“I agree, I think that we’ll find a way to get Gomes in, whether that is through other people’s unfortunate injuries but he will get a chance and I’m sure he will get a run in this side between now and the end of the season.”
Rodrigo Gomes deserves a chance vs Newcastle
O’Neil played a 4-2-3-1 system against Forest with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde playing on the right and Rayan Ait-Nouri on the opposite flank.
Whilst Bellegarde scored a screamer to earn Wolves a point, Ait-Nouri wasn’t at his best, recording just one dribble from his left-wing role.
The Algerian has made himself undroppable since O’Neil arrived however, at the start of this campaign, he isn’t producing the same high-level displays.
With the likes of Hwang Hee-chan, Goncalo Guedes, Gomes and new signing Carlos Forbs waiting in the wings, the competition for places in the wide positions is strong.
Gomes could therefore find it difficult to break into the starting XI and that is perhaps the case against Newcastle.
Although on the evidence of his 75 minutes in the defeat to Arsenal, the Portuguese winger could offer a goal threat from wide that has been missed at times.
