Wolves have signed promising wide man Enso Gonzalez on a six-year contract from Paraguayan side Libertad, subject to international clearance and work permit.
The 18-year-old, who is capable of playing on either wing or behind a striker, has come to prominence in the Paraguayan Primera Division over the past year, earning him a first move away from his home nation and to Europe.
By September 2022 Gonzalez had broken into the first-team at Libertad, where Brighton & Hove Albion’s Julio Enciso was discovered, and during this season, which began in January, he’s become a regular in the starting 11.
Across his 23 league games this term, the Paraguayan scored three times, laid on two assists and proved a thorn in the side of Paraguayan full-backs with his confident, all-round performances out wide.
Welcome to the pack, Enso ✍️ pic.twitter.com/0O51qqco85
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 31, 2023
During the first period of the Paraguayan Primera Division, Litertad lifted the Apertura trophy at the halfway point in June, earning Gonzalez a first title, while he’s been a fixture in the first-team since, playing 67 minutes against Cerro Porteno as recently as Sunday.
The youngster also brings experience of playing on the continent this year, having featured in the Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League equivalent, which Wolves’ Joao Gomes previously won with Flamengo.
Having attracted the Wolves recruitment team for his tenacious South American attitude, Gonzalez earned plaudits for his trickery and low sense of gravity when on the ball, as well as his defensive duties moving the opposite way.
The teenager arrives having played all eight of Libertad’s games since the turn of the season, playing predominantly on his favoured left foot on the left wing, and was welcomed to Compton Park on Wednesday, where he officially joined Wolves.
Sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “This is a transfer we’ve worked on for a while and we’re delighted to have Enso joining us. He’s an exciting, young player, who will fit in well with our dressing room and within the DNA we’re trying to create. We wanted a front player who could play across the line and give us something different, and Enso is the name our recruitment team pushed.
“His creativity stood out, playing forward, being aggressive in possession and doing his work out of possession, but for me it was more what he does offensively. Most players do the other side of the work if you’re getting the right sort of people, but with Enso I’m excited to see what he gives us going forward.”
