Wolves’ away trip tomorrow morning is a better opportunity for Arsenal to directly ‘watch’ one of their priority goals.

According to Brazilian publication O Dia, Arsenal has surpassed Man United in the race to sign Joao Gomes. The Brazilian was signed by the Wolves from Flamengo for just £12 million and is making waves at Molineux.

 

Gomes is a testament to the Wolves’ wise recruitment. While Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha are the stars coveted by Premier League teams, the 23-year-old defensive midfielder is also attracting everyone’s attention. Wolves do not want to sell Gomes this year, although the recruitment process to find a replacement is already underway.

Gomes epitomizes the business model for club owners Fosun: buying young talent with high potential at a relatively cheap price of between £8m and £15m, then reselling it for a profit. Huge profits in the coming years. Sporting director Matt Hobbs played a key role in his discovery at the end of 2022.

“With the way he plays, there will certainly be many clubs watching,” said Matt Hobbs.

“The perfect player for us might not be the perfect player for another team, but Joao fits here.”

 

As a defensive midfielder, Gomes is always enthusiastic and enthusiastic. In terms of tackling ability, Gomes is not inferior to Fulham’s Joao Palhinha or Sheffield United’s Vinicius Souza. With his great effort on every ball, he earned the nickname ‘The Pitbull’ at his former club Flamengo. Perhaps what Gomes needs to improve is just his passing ability. Gomes’ best match this season was the 2-1 win over Man City in September. He showed that he was not overwhelmed by Pep Guardiola’s elite midfield.

The story of Gomes’ move to the West Midlands is also fascinating. At that time, Wolves also targeted another midfielder. Wolves scout Elliot Sutcliffe also targeted River Plate’s Enzo Fernandez. As is known, Fernandez decided to join Benfica, and then Chelsea last year for a staggering £106 million. Gomes’ career path is much simpler. He rejected Lyon’s interest to agree to a five-and-a-half-year contract with the Wolves.

In his debut, as a second-half substitute, Gomes scored the decisive goal in a 2-1 win over Southampton, even though Wolves were reduced to 10 me𝚗 after Lemina was sent off. Since that first season, he has taken himself to new heights. He is more complete, sure, and wiser to create safety in front of the defense. He showed that he can also contribute a lot to the аttаck, with 2 goals and 1 assist this season.

Whether he goes to Man United or Arsenal, Gomes promises to be the perfect piece of the puzzle so they can conquer their goals in the new season.