Wolves can confirm the signing of highly rated Brazilian defender Pedro Lima from Sport Club do Recife, subject to work permit and international clearance.
After a determined recruitment process in which Wolves came out on top in the battle for his signature, the club have made the right-back – who turned 18 on Monday – Gary O’Neil’s fourth acquisition of the summer transfer window.
Lima landed in England on Sunday, before completing his introductions and medical tests on his 18th birthday, and put pen to paper on a five-year deal, with the option of a further 12 months, adding to the Old Gold’s defensive department.
The full-back has shown great promise during his young career, playing 26 games in his debut senior campaign for Sport Recife, who he now departs for the Premier League.
Born in Cabedelo, Joao Pessoa – the same city as new Wolves teammate Matheus Cunha – Lima was on initially on the books of local side Esporte Clube Meninos da Paraíba, before making the switch to join Sport Recife’s academy when he was 15.
Agent Cunha at work 🇧🇷👔 pic.twitter.com/sG5aXVFdsZ
— Wolves (@Wolves) July 2, 2024
The youngster progressed through the under-17s and under-20s in Recife with his performances earning him an international call-up for Brazil’s under-17s.
In October 2023, the right-back was selected by his country to play in last year’s FIFA U17 World Cup, with Lima featuring in all five of Brazil’s matches in the competition, which included a 2-1 win over England in the group stage, as well as providing an assist in the last 16 victory against Ecuador.
On his return from the World Cup, Lima was promoted to the Recife first-team for the 2024 season, with his senior debut arriving in January as he started a 2-0 home win over Afogados before the defender scored his first professional goal three days later.
Lima flourished in the senior environment with Recife, as he netted his second goal in a 3-1 win over Treze in February on the way to helping the club to the semi-finals of the Copa do Nordeste, while he also played a key role in the club’s Campeonato Pernambucano success, claiming an assist in the final’s first leg as Recife lifted the trophy.
Following eight appearances in the Brazilian Serie B during the last few months, Lima now heads to Molineux for a first experience of European and English football with Wolves.
Wolves’ sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “I’m really happy we’ve been able to add Pedro to the first-team squad. There was lots of competition for him, but we’ve been working on bringing him to Wolves for a while now, and he’s fully invested in our project.
“He’s a person with huge ambition, but Gary and the coaches know where he wants to get to and they will be working with him – like they do all our players – to be better and improve. He has a massive desire to be the best player he can be and we’re going to help him meet his goals.
“Through his attitude, through his work on the pitch, his work in the gym and the way he looks after himself, I expect him to be really competitive and push the players who might be ahead of him at the moment, but in Nelson, I think there’s no better right-back for him to learn from.”
The teenager becomes Wolves’ fourth signing of the summer following Tommy Doyle’s loan from Manchester City becoming permanent and the acquisitions of Portuguese wide man Rodrigo Gomes and Norwegian striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.
