Wolves’ key players to rely on ahead of Vitor Pereira’s first full season at Molineux

National World - LocalTV

Wolves are heading into a crucial campaign under Vítor Pereira, where stability and squad cohesion could define their fortunes more than ever. After a summer shaped by financial discipline and targeted business, the club are banking on the strength of their existing group — with Jørgen Strand Larsen expected to be a central figure. We spoke to Charlie Haffenden of BirminghamWorld who suggests Wolves remain open to strengthening, but only under strict parameters.

Transcript

00:00Wolves are heading into a crucial campaign under Vitor Pereira, where stability and squad

00:08cohesion could define their fortunes more than ever. After a summer shout by financial

00:14discipline and targeted business, the club are banking on the strength of their existing

00:19group, with Jorgen Stran Larsson expected to be a central figure.

00:24Having arrived as one of the marquee signings of the window, Stran Larsson offered a

00:29focal point in attack and a fresh dimension towards his front line. But beyond the Norwegian

00:35striker, there's a real emphasis on continuity. We spoke to Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World,

00:41who suggests Wolves remain open to strengthening but only under strict parameters. The focus is

00:48on firmly protecting the long-term structure while giving Pereira a squad that can compete,

00:53especially with several key players committing to the project. In a summer of cautious ambition,

01:00the message from Wolves is clear. There's belief in the group they've built. With Stran Larsson

01:05leading the line and a tight-knit squad around him, they're aiming to build momentum without

01:12breaking the bank.

01:16Yeah, and obviously those two players going out the door. Who do you feel is now the most important

01:20player at Wolves? Because, you know, we saw the welcome of Emmanuel Agbedou. He made a massive

01:27difference when he came through the door in January. And then Andre and Gerald Gomez, the two Brazilians

01:32in the midfield. You know, one of the best partnerships in the league, it has to be said,

01:36on their day. Those that sort of standouts now, they've obviously got a few young players as well.

01:41Pedro Lima, are we going to see him get his chance, only 18, at right back? Who sort of stands out?

01:48You look at Jorwin, Sean Larsson as well, 14 Premier League goals. That certainly can't be ignored

01:53by other fans across the Premier League.

01:57I'd have to agree with the names that you've mentioned. Agbedou, signing in the winter,

02:00just saw how much of an impact he had and how much Wolves defence, how much more solid it became

02:06as soon as he joined the club. They were lacking that kind of fairly quick, but strong and dominant

02:11player in the air. Agbedou, all of those things in abundance. I think him, alongside Yeozen Mosquera,

02:17once he's back from injury, could be a decent partnership. And of course, Toti Gomez on the left

02:22of that three as well. Jaa Gomez and Andre as a midfield partnership can be fantastic. I think

02:28they're a bit inconsistent, maybe a little bit hot-headed at times or a little bit rash

02:31of their decision-making, but that will come with time. They're both still very young players

02:35and, of course, both being Brazilian in that international set-up together, they have more

02:39time, even during international breaks, to build on that partnership. Jorgen Strand-Larsson,

02:43I was worried you weren't going to mention him, scoring quite a few goals. I think he surpassed

02:48what Raul Jimenez managed in his first season at Wolves. So that's really promising indeed,

02:52of course, coming in permanently from Seltzer. I think one player that you haven't mentioned

02:57who might not be a Wolves player come the end of June is Nelson Samedo. It's just so

03:02important, I think, that Wolves convince him to stay. It's just difficult because he hasn't

03:07accepted that contract since going on and on. It feels inevitable now that he's going

03:11to leave the club and being the captain, being one of the very few proper leaders in

03:14that dressing room, I think he'd be a big miss. But if Wolves can keep hold of him, I think

03:19he'd be one of the most important players in that squad for many years to come.

03:22Yeah, obviously, since we last caught up, the season ended. Jorgen Strand-Larsson's

03:27figures, 14 Premier League goals. I think it's important we actually touch on that. Four

03:30Premier League assists as well. At times, it looked like he struggled throughout the season.

03:36He went through some bad patches, but the way he ended the season under Vitor Pereira's

03:39leadership, especially the last two, three months, he was untouchable. One of the best

03:44players in the Premier League, really, on his day. And he got some massively important

03:49goals, you know, the likes of Ipswich away as well. What's your thoughts on him and how

03:54important he's going to be for Wolves going forward? Because, you know, scoring goals had

03:58been a bit of an issue getting that Raul Jimenez replacement before his head injury. That was

04:03a bit of an issue that was overhanging Wolves' dugout. And now it seems like they've maybe

04:08found a solution.

04:08Yeah, they were crying out, weren't they, for that proper centre-forward after Raul Jimenez.

04:12And Strand-Larsson pretty much hit the ground running straight away. As you mentioned, he

04:17was patchy at times, but I think that's probably a fitness thing, that the Wolves relying on

04:21him so much, who can compete with Strand-Larsson, push into the next level, of course, rotate

04:27in for him as well when Strand-Larsson gets tired. But great signing so far, and hopefully

04:32it's not that curse of when he joins permanently that his form falls away. If he can continue on the

04:37great years and potentially improve further, you could have a 20-goal striker in Strand-Larsson.

04:42He really is fantastic.

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