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.
