Vitor Pereira says Joao Gomes epitomises the spirit his Wolves side must possess and believes the midfielder can help the Old Gold make the next step.
The ever-present midfielder committed his long-term future to the club on the eve of Wolves’ return to Premier League action, and Pereira, who’d previously worked with Gomes briefly at Flamengo, is delighted a key cog is his machine is here to stay.
The 24-year-old has missed just two Premier League matches this term, and earned his tenth Brazil cap just last week, and as Pereira readies his group for West Ham United, he knows he a count on Gomes to give his absolute maximum, like every week in Wolves old gold.
On Gomes’ influence on the group
“I’m very happy because Joao is a team player. He gives every time 100 per cent, in training, in the games, and he has the quality to help this team and this club to make the next step.
“At the end of the game he’s given everything for the team, defending, attacking, supporting the teammates, and this is what we need in our team, this is the spirit we need at this club. We must come to Wolverhampton with this hunger, this spirit to help the team, help the club to grow up.”
On his license to get forward
“With two midfielders, one of the must think defensively and must take care of the balance of the team at the moment we lose the ball. Joao I give some freedom to support the attacks because if you look at his skills, he likes to appear in the box to score goals. I’m the kind of coach that when a player does something good, I’m happy for him, and happy for the team.
“He’s the kind of player that at the end of the game sometimes he’s played better, other times it’s not possible, but in the end he’s given everything.”
On making it to the international stage
“He’s young, has talent, has spirit, and for me it was not a surprise to see him called up by Brazil because when I was there in Brazil, we felt we had a player at Flamengo that would be a player for the national team, for sure.”
On continually improving
“He can have better shooting outside of the box, better heading, he can improve, especially with the last decision, the assists, but he has the skills and he’s young. He’s humble to listen and this is the most important, because we can improve and learn every day in our lives.
“He’s very important because he’s a midfielder with physicality, he has the power to run 90 minutes, and he’s young. He has big potential and can be a top player.”
