Wolverhampton Wanderers have seen some spectacular talent grace Molineux over the years, with the glory days of Nuno Espirito Santo currently looking like light-years away.
To say that the Old Gold have suffered in recent months would be an understatement, going from bottom of the table of Christmas Day of 2022, to battling financial struggles and managerial changes late in the summer.
Gary O’Neil took charge of the squad just four days before the club’s 2023/24 Premier League season opener, with the former Bournemouth manager handed the impossible task of attempting to compete with an extremely frail Wolves squad.
The challenge of balancing the books and maintaining a strong squad proved to be out of reach, as big names were sold for critical profit with little reinforcements welcomed to ease the blow on the team.
Speaking after his side’s abysmal 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat to Championship side Ipswich Town, the manager admitted his squad is “£80m short” of quality due to the sales made in the summer.
While Wolves generated sufficient cash for the sales of stars such as Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes, ensuring profitable exits from Molineux hasn’t always been possible, with last season highlighting just how much the club fumbled on one player in particular.
When did Wolves sign Pedro Goncalves?
In 2017, 19-year-old Valencia academy talent Pedro Goncalves made the switch from Spain to England to become another Portuguese addition to Nuno’s newly constructed squad at Molineux.
The teen was signed under the manager at Valencia prior to his move to Wolves, telling of how much of a fan Nuno was of the young winger, who had built his career in his homeland before moving to Spain and on to the Midlands.
In the 2017/18 campaign, the forward made a quick start to life in the Old Gold’s academy, scoring four goals and providing one assist in just 16 Premier League 2 appearances.
In a total of 38 appearances for Wolves’ academy sides, the Chaves-born whiz contributed to 13 goals, scoring nine times and assisted four goals for his teammates, hinting at how effective he could one day become in the final third.
His coach at the time of his success in the academy was current Luton Town boss Rob Edwards, who has since admitted that the forward’s development in senior football “does not surprise” him.
Despite earning praise and making a positive impact in Wolverhampton, the Portuguese ace bid farewell to the club just two years after his arrival.
What happened to Pedro Goncalves?
A combination of missing home comforts and not seeing a path for a way into the first team under Nuno was suspected to be the cause of Goncalves’ swift exit.
The youngster left having made one appearance for the senior squad, which came in the form of 28 minutes in the league cup against Sheffield Wednesday, far from the glitz and glamour of the Premier League.
Unfortunately for both player and club, his arrival came at a critical time for Wolves, where the squad were doing well on their return to the top-flight, with stars such as Neves and Joao Moutinho dominating central midfield, where Goncalves had been positioned in the academy.
It was unlikely that the youngster would have broken through to the level that he desired, which led him to make the mature decision to leave his Premier League hopes behind and return to Portugal.
Wolves sold Goncalves, known as Pote, to Famalicao for a fee believed to be in the region of £1m, which began the start of a reel of difficult viewing for those at Molineux, as their former academy player began to grow into a different beast.
Pote spent one season at Famalicao in Liga Portugal before being picked up by Portuguese giants Sporting CP, having made a quick impact on his return to his homeland, scoring five times and recording six assists in the 2019/20 league campaign.
Pedro Goncalves record in the Primeira Liga, via Transfermarkt
Season
Club
Apps
Goals
Assists
2019/20
Famalicao
33
5
6
2020/21
Sporting CP
32
23
4
2021/22
Sporting CP
27
8
10
2022/23
Sporting CP
33
15
12
Having previously been lauded as “phenomenal” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, the winger has become one of Sporting’s most influential players due to his power in front of goal and ability to add a constant threat in attack.
Having secured 136 Liga Portugal appearances, along with 10 Champions League and seven Europa League appearances for Sporting so far, the former Wolves outsider has caught the attention of Europe since his Molineux departure.
Speaking on the Express and Star’s Wolves podcast in 2021, The Athletic’s Tim Spiers described Wolves’ management of Goncalves as “frustrating” and his sale as a “massive mistake”, a fair judgement when reviewing his form in Portugal.
How many goals has Pedro Goncalves scored?
Last season, the Old Gold were the Premier League’s lowest-scorers after scoring just 31 goals in 38 games, 63 goals fewer than league winners Manchester City to highlight the difference in quality.
To put into perspective just how poor the sale of Goncalves was, the forward scored just 11 goals less than his old club in the 2022/23 campaign over all competitions, scoring 20 times and assisting 15 goals in 51 appearances.
The winger has directly had a hand in 94 goals in 136 appearances for Sporting, with his highest-scoring season coming in his debut Primeira Liga campaign, in which he was named on the scoresheet 23 times in 32 appearances.
Goncalves’ feat in the 2020/21 term, his first for Sporting, came less than two years after he left Wolves, highlighting just how horrendous the decision was to sell the forward for pennies rather than loan him to such clubs for development.
How much is Pedro Goncalves worth now?
Wolves currently sit short of goals, funds and inspiration, three things that the winger has been relishing over the past year.
This summer, Aston Villa were linked with a potential move for the Sporting hero, with news in Portugal, relayed by Sport Witness, revealing that Wolves’ rivals reportedly walked away from a deal due to the price the Portuguese club valued him at.
With a release clause of €80m (£68m) in place in his contract, Sporting understandably told interested buyers that they would not consider selling the player for less than the value of his clause, reinforcing the funds the Old Gold could have had if they had kept him on their books rather than selling him for so little.
In his position currently sits Pedro Neto, who has come to light this season, but has netted just 12 goals in his 117 appearances for Wolves, highlighting the drop in quality following the sanctioning of his compatriot's move away.
Away from his goal contributions, in which he scored 15 goals fewer than the former Wolves gem last term, Neto has fallen short of Pote in other areas of his game, as communicated through their season averages in their respective 2022/23 league campaigns.
As per FBref, Neto averaged 2.24 progressive passes,1.87 key passes and 3.83 shot-creating actions per 90 in the Premier League, falling short of Goncalves in the Primeira Liga who averaged 5.26 progressive passes, 4.55 shot-creating actions and 2.37 key passes per 90.
The sale of Goncalves was a low point for Wolves in hindsight, with the player having the potential to have generated significant profit to the Midlands side, as well as the quality he could have implemented in the squad, which is currently so short of luxury.
