Wolves have completed the signing of young Portuguese wide man Rodrigo Gomes on a five-year deal from SC Braga.
The Portugal under-21 international becomes the club’s second signing of the summer, following the permanent capture of Tommy Doyle, as preparations for the 2024/25 Premier League season continue.
The 20-year-old’s move to Molineux comes on the back of a productive season on loan at top flight Portuguese side Estoril, for whom he scored nine times and provided eight assists across 36 games.
Our first Rodrigo, our third Gomes! ✍️ pic.twitter.com/XENTmLAvLT
— Wolves (@Wolves) June 12, 2024
Gomes was borrowed from SC Braga, where he’d played more than 50 times as a teenager, four years behind Pedro Neto, who progressed through the same academy before leaving for Molineux in 2019.
While similarities may be drawn to Neto, also a pacy and technical right winger, Gomes has different facets to his game, with his attributes providing versatility, leading to appearances on the left and at wing-back.
Hard-working and willing to cover the ground, Gomes has represented six different Portuguese youth groups, including the under-21s as recently as March, and played European football during his early days at Braga.
Gomes’ Wolves contract will run until 2029 and contains an additional one-year option. He completed his medical testing on Tuesday and will join O’Neil’s squad for the start of pre-season training.
Sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “It’s nice to do one early in the summer, so Rodrigo will be able to join the squad for the first day of pre-season, which is great for the player and the coaching staff – they can work with him from the start. He’s a great character, a great boy and will really fit in.
“Scouting has taken a while. He’s a player we’ve followed for most of the season, since he first went on loan. He’s a player we know very, very well and have done an awful lot of work on but getting him in has been relatively smooth because Rodrigo was clear that he wanted to come here and is excited.
“It’s not important to get a deal done early if it’s not the right player, but this is the right player. It’s great for the club to do that. He’ll be an important player for us with his versatility, creativity, technical ability and attitude on the pitch. The fans will love him and I’m genuinely really excited to have him here.”
