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Portugal's over, the rain's back, but the football never stops! Join Keen and Judah as they dissect Wolves' pre-season training camp and reveal the six players who really caught their eye.
From established stars stepping up as leaders to hungry youngsters seizing their chance, find out who's making a statement early on. Which players impressed beyond the Santa Clara and Burnley games?
Discover the names to watch as Wolves gear up for the new season. Who is ready to exceed expectations and lead the attack?
#WolvesFC #PreSeason #FootballTraining #WWFC
From established stars stepping up as leaders to hungry youngsters seizing their chance, find out who's making a statement early on. Which players impressed beyond the Santa Clara and Burnley games?
Discover the names to watch as Wolves gear up for the new season. Who is ready to exceed expectations and lead the attack?
#WolvesFC #PreSeason #FootballTraining #WWFC
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SportsTranscript
00:00Well, hello everybody. Welcome to the latest episode. It is the Keen and Judah show. I'm your host Nathan Judah. Delighted to be joined as ever by Wolf supporter Mr. Liam Keen.
00:15And Liam, look outside. Rain. Dull. Humid. There's no sun. There's no brightness. There's no blue sky. We're back from Portugal. Bad times.
00:27I mean, it was pretty good out there, wasn't it?
00:32Beautiful, baby.
00:33And a great time. Weather, fantastic. Maybe slightly too warm, but not that we want to whinge about it.
00:38Yeah, not quite the same. You come back into Birmingham Airport. Unfortunately, not raining when we got off the plane.
00:42But since then, all it has done is rain pretty much the whole time. So I'm sure V2 and the boys are buzzing to be back.
00:49Yeah, that's why they're going to Spain in a couple of weeks' time as well. Or a week and a half, I guess, as we know it now.
00:53So, yeah, look, Portugal, really good trip, Liam. Of course, people who I'm sure saw our coverage and read it and listened to it and watched it.
01:02Hopefully you enjoyed it. A plethora of information out there. Exclusive interviews. We're at training most days.
01:08Two practice matches as well to talk about. And I think just to wrap the Portugal trip up as a whole,
01:14we're going to discuss six plays, I think, caught our eye during that Portugal training camp.
01:18And it is always interesting, Liam, I think, just overall, a general look at this moment in time, very early stages into the season.
01:25But it's always interesting. There's plenty of players who are hoping to catch the manager's eye for a variety of different reasons.
01:30And that was exactly the case when we were over there.
01:35Oh, yeah, absolutely. It's always an opportunity, isn't it, just to get in front of the manager for certain young lads,
01:40because Wolves obviously haven't made too many signings so far.
01:43There's some players that are sort of in between, whether they're going to be with the first team,
01:47whether they're not, whether they're going to go on loan. And then, of course, the first team regulars that we expect to come in,
01:51but players that maybe would like to get more of a regular berth in that starting XI.
01:56So all the way across, aside from the obvious players like Jao Gomez and Andre, for example,
02:02all the way across, pretty much, you've got players in different categories that are trying to impress the manager for different reasons, really.
02:08And there are a handful that stood out, fortunately.
02:11Obviously, a 2-1 loss to Santa Clara and a 1-1 draw with Burnley is the two training games that Wolves had.
02:16But as Vitor has probably very wisely said, he's not too bothered about the results.
02:22It's about fitness. It's about tactics. It's about getting the players together.
02:25And it was a worthwhile sort of 10 days or so for the players over in Portugal.
02:29Yeah, it was. But we're going to talk about not just players who caught the eye in the games,
02:33but players who caught the eye in training. We've got six players to talk about.
02:36Of course, there are other players who we know are excellent and we just expect quality from them.
02:41So just because we haven't, if we don't approach them, it's not to say that we were disappointed by them.
02:45But I think just certain names who popped out for different reasons, some because they're genuinely excellent
02:51and some because maybe we haven't talked about them too much.
02:54And we thought just seeing them face to face and maybe not just in the stands, you know, 50, 60 yards away,
03:00but maybe one or two yards away, you got to see them up close.
03:02And yeah, it's an interesting list. I'm excited to talk about it.
03:05So shall we go? Let's do it.
03:07OK, let's go. Let's go with someone who we all know and love to start the top of the show.
03:12And that is Jorgen Strand-Larsen. Brilliant, brilliant debut season for Wolves.
03:1814 Premier League goals, a plethora of assists and someone who, with Matthias Cunha not there this season,
03:25will be hoping to, and I'm sure Vito Perel will be hoping to lead the line and continue where he left off.
03:30One goal in that second game, of course, against Burnley.
03:34I think just genuinely looking at him as a whole, just the way he carries himself in training,
03:42I think almost he's straight into a leadership role, even though he's only been there for a season.
03:46You look at him to lead the line, you look at him to score the goals.
03:50In that first game against Santa Clara, in that last 15 minutes, it came in the second half, didn't he?
03:55I think it was part of the second half team. I might be wrong.
03:58Against Santa Clara, yeah, that's right.
04:00With Fer Lopez, and I thought they linked it well.
04:02He'd probably be a little bit disappointed that he didn't score a goal in that game.
04:06But we all know about his aerial presence. We all know that he's strong.
04:10We all know to whip crosses into him.
04:11But actually, the goal he scored against Burnley, I thought was quite telling.
04:15It was a very deft little touch, wasn't it? Just a little glance almost into that far corner.
04:21And that's what we want, someone who's got really good feet as well,
04:23and that's going to be important this season.
04:25Yeah, I think across the board, we saw some really good signs from last.
04:29As you say, a fantastic opening season.
04:3114 goals is probably more than any of us expected he would get in that opening year.
04:35If he can replicate that, or even improve on that, he's going to have a fantastic second season.
04:42So let's hope that'll be the case.
04:43And I think he's made a really strong start.
04:45First of all, I think he looked refreshed.
04:48I think he looked re-energised.
04:49I think the break had done him good, because there were a couple of small injuries last season.
04:53Maybe a little bit where the stuffing was knocked out of him.
04:56He looked a bit tired.
04:58And I didn't see that from this player in pre-season in Portugal.
05:01In training, he looked full of energy.
05:04In games, he looked strong.
05:06He looked like he's been in the gym a little bit.
05:08He was never a small guy in the first place, don't get me wrong.
05:10But the issue that we did have last season, on occasion, was holding the ball up.
05:14And I think he looks like he's a bit more aggressive when doing that.
05:18And he's just got a little bit of, I said this in one of our videos over there, a little bit of devilment about him.
05:23We know he's a big character.
05:25We know he's liked amongst the squad.
05:27And he's, you know, a big personality.
05:30But he's also someone that maybe shied away.
05:34He's probably a bit harsh, but maybe not quite stood up to the physical battle at times last season.
05:39Now, look, it's early days in pre-season, of course.
05:42But I felt that he was putting himself about.
05:44He was getting in players' faces.
05:45He was being a little bit nasty.
05:46And that's exactly what I want to see from York and Shannon Larson.
05:49He's got the physique to do it.
05:51And now he's starting to put himself about a bit more.
05:53Alongside having those finishes and getting those goals.
05:56The finish against Burnley.
05:57Sort of a fox-in-the-box kind of movement and finish.
06:00Exactly what we want to see from someone who we know is a good finisher.
06:03But has, you know, got to show all different parts of his game.
06:06So, overall, I thought a very, very good pre-season.
06:09And just to finally finish on him.
06:10You mentioned about the Santa Clara game and that link with Bernal Lopez.
06:14That could be a really exciting partnership.
06:15Obviously, good friends off the pitch as well.
06:17But equally, you know, he hit the crossbar.
06:19Hit the side netting as well in that game.
06:21Was very unfortunate not to score.
06:23Excellent movement.
06:24Just looked dangerous throughout.
06:26And it was a really important thing for him.
06:28Even though the game and the results really matter too much.
06:32Really important for him on a personal note to score against Burnley.
06:34Because he didn't score at all in pre-season last year.
06:38And I know it was something that weighed a little bit heavy on him.
06:40So, for him to get that goal, get that monkey off his back, if you will, and move forward into the rest of pre-season can only be a good thing.
06:48John Arias on his way.
06:49Should be a Wolves player soon.
06:50You've got Fer Lopez, as you've just mentioned there.
06:52You've also got probably another striker signing.
06:54I think they'll still look for a forward on top of that.
06:57You've got Gonzalo Guedes, you've got Hwang Hee-chan.
07:00You just feel that Stran Larsson is the alpha male in this forward line, don't you?
07:05Yeah, without a doubt.
07:06You know, you've scored 14 goals last season.
07:08You're going to have a little bit of that sort of energy about you.
07:12And why not?
07:13You should be putting your chest out and showing people that, you know, you're the number nine.
07:17You're the man.
07:18He was someone we mentioned briefly as a sort of outside option.
07:21I don't think he's going to get it, but it's someone we mentioned in that conversation around the captains as well,
07:27because he speaks several languages, speaks English and Spanish fluently, of course.
07:33So he's a very good communicator.
07:35And those kind of things are going to help him as well.
07:38As I said, I don't think he'll get it.
07:39But for him to be in that conversation and for him to be a big part of his Wolves team going into a second Premier League season
07:46means that he's doing all things right at the moment.
07:48So let's hope it continues.
07:49Now, I'm blessed from the past who made our top six list.
07:54And it's slightly surprising, but I think we've seen him in training sessions before.
07:58We've seen him in pre-season before, before he goes out on loan.
08:01And look, he probably is going to go out on loan again.
08:03But I thought he did himself plenty of favours while he was out there,
08:08especially when there was no Nelson Samedo, of course.
08:10There was no Rodrigo Gomez.
08:12Matt Doherty was still in that centre-back role.
08:14So up steps new right wing back, Key, Yana, Hoover for the season.
08:19It's interesting, wasn't it?
08:21It was a good assist for the Strand-Larsen goal in the second game against Burnley.
08:24But I think just in his training in that first game as well, we were all very, very impressed.
08:28And there's obviously a talent there.
08:30There's a player.
08:30Whether that can translate to the Premier League on a consistent basis remains to be seen.
08:35But he's definitely giving Vitor food for thought.
08:38And I thought at the start of this show, we were looking at players who maybe wouldn't be in the Vitor Pereira's thoughts.
08:44And maybe he's one of those players who they'll look at and the coaching staff will look at and go,
08:48OK, this might be a useful squad player this year.
08:52But, yeah, this is the great thing about pre-season is that it throws up names.
08:57And there'll be a few more on this list today on this show that we probably wouldn't have been talking about a few months ago or a few weeks ago, even.
09:04He's been the surprise package or one of the surprise packages in that Portugal trip.
09:09I don't think either of us expected to see what we saw from him.
09:12He looked a bit more mature, looked a bit more athletic, looked like he looked stronger.
09:16In training, I thought he looked very good.
09:18But in particular, in both those games, he looked dangerous.
09:21He was good going forward.
09:22A player that can play centre-back, can play wing-back, is a little bit versatile.
09:26I know he more than anything has played wing-back in the last few years, but he can play in both positions.
09:31But looked great going forward.
09:32And against Burnley, sets up the Larson goal with a really, really powerful, determined run down that right-hand side.
09:39And that's maybe the kind of intent that we hadn't really seen from this player previously in his Wolf's career.
09:46Maybe a little bit tentative at times.
09:48And that was the opposite, really, of what we saw in a Wolf's shirt in Portugal.
09:51So, look, you don't want to build him up too much because I think there's always been a likelihood that he'll go this summer.
09:57But he gives himself an opportunity of staying with every time that he impresses and every time he performs.
10:01Of course, it will come down to what the manager thinks.
10:04Wolves are closing in on, as of today, and has been reported by ourselves elsewhere.
10:09For the signing of Marco Pubel from Almeria, a Spanish 22-year-old wing-back.
10:15They're looking to get that one done, hoping to get it done this week.
10:18That will be the Orsameda replacement in theory.
10:21But we look at all the other options in those positions.
10:23Rodrigo Gomez can play both sides and I think will be a utility player this season.
10:26I don't think Dock will be anywhere near there.
10:29I think he'll be a centre-back and probably rightly so.
10:31And the other option is Pedro Lima, who I think is a very good talent,
10:36but showed he's probably not quite ready with that defensive error against Burnley for their goal.
10:41And also, as we mentioned elsewhere and reported elsewhere, he's someone that could go on loan.
10:46And does that potentially open the doors up for a squad player in Keanu Hoover?
10:52Now, it depends on what the player wants.
10:53It depends on who he's happy with that kind of role.
10:55But I'll tell you what, at this moment in time, Wolves could potentially do a lot worse.
10:59And I didn't think I would be saying that a few weeks ago.
11:02And that's credit to the work he's done.
11:04Well, you're right. I think he's ahead of Pedro Lima at the moment.
11:06That's for certain.
11:07Well, it has to be.
11:08I mean, he started both games against Anteclari and Burnley in Portugal.
11:12Obviously, in that Burnley game, the first team, if you will,
11:17the most senior and best available 11 that Pereira had there to choose from,
11:22played about 62 minutes or so in that game against Burnley,
11:25rather than doing two separate 11s in either half.
11:28And Hoover was part of it, and he was there.
11:32And we know that as much as we're big fans of Lima,
11:34I think in the future he'll be a fantastic player.
11:36Didn't do himself any favours, really, in that Burnley game,
11:40or at least with the goal that was conceded.
11:41So I think you have to look at Hoover as ahead of him.
11:45And if Wolves need another option there or another player for the squad,
11:48he could be one that slots right in.
11:50Yeah.
11:51Third on the list is, at this moment in time,
11:55and I'm sure he'll be delighted when Wolves make another signing,
11:57he doesn't have to say that every time we introduce him.
11:59The only Wolves signing so far, ÂŁ19.5 million worth of Berl Lopez.
12:03We discussed early on with Jorgen Stran Larsson,
12:05but linked up really well in that first game, I think, against Santa Clara.
12:08Wolves up the ante those last 10 minutes, and he looked dangerous.
12:12Just his thought process, very intelligent football,
12:15is what I've seen from him so far.
12:17A bit, I would say, similar in terms of the movement of Matthias Kunja.
12:22He likes to drop deep, doesn't he?
12:24He likes to come and get the ball and then pick off passes.
12:27And I think that some of the passes that he made, very, very intelligent.
12:30And that's where someone like Jorgen Stran Larsson,
12:32not just air relief from your wing-backs,
12:34but I think going through and across the ground, can really benefit.
12:37It looked like they knew each other a little bit.
12:39They knew the runs they were making.
12:40It was a bit of that telepathic nature,
12:42and I think obviously helping and being ex-teammates will,
12:44even though they were different in ages, I think will definitely help.
12:49Stran Larsson will take him under his wing as well.
12:51I think we all know that in terms of not just on the field,
12:53but off the field as well.
12:54There'll be a close bond between these two.
12:56And whether we see Phil Lopez as a regular starter to begin this season,
13:00I think remains to be seen.
13:01But in terms of the exciting, in terms of the play,
13:04in terms of the athlete that he is, Liam, because he is an athlete,
13:07you look at him and he's tall, but he's quite slender.
13:10And yet on the pitch, he looks bigger than you would expect him to be.
13:13And I think that's because he's quite strong.
13:15And you're going to need that in the Premier League.
13:17Yeah, and there was an occasion where we both watched,
13:19I think it was the Santa Clara game,
13:20where he knocked someone straight off the ball
13:22and showed that he's not going to be pushed around,
13:24which is going to be really important for the Premier League.
13:27Now, I think I can speak for both of us when I say we quite like him.
13:31I think as a person, similar to Larsson, really,
13:34big character, a little bit of a joker.
13:37I think it's thieves, those two very good friends.
13:40And I think that will help him.
13:41His English is excellent as well,
13:42which is really going to help him,
13:43having spent a little bit of time in England as a 14-year-old.
13:46So that's going to be really useful.
13:48And I think as a player, there's lots to like about him as well.
13:51I will start with a small negative.
13:52I saw in that Burnley game, he held onto the ball a little bit too much,
13:56maybe turned into danger a little too often.
13:58That's something I think with a bit more sharpness,
14:01a bit more match sharpness, more time in pre-season,
14:04that will start to fade away.
14:06I don't want to see some similarities in Pablo Sarabia,
14:10who, look, we saw some good things from Sarabia, don't get me wrong,
14:12on occasions where Sarabia frustrated by holding onto possession too long
14:16and being too slow to release it.
14:18I don't want to see that.
14:19So I think that's something we need to be a little bit wary of with Lopez.
14:22But what he does bring is an excellent left foot,
14:25excellent technical ability,
14:27really intelligent in the spaces and the pockets
14:29and the little bits in between the lines that he picks up.
14:32And he's the kind of player that can deliver,
14:34as you've already mentioned, that killer pass.
14:37And he played one in that first half against Burnley for Larson.
14:40Lovely through ball.
14:42Larson was down on the sort of left-hand side of the box
14:45and forced a near-post shot from the Burnley goalkeeper.
14:48And that was a little glimpse into what hopefully we'll see on a regular basis
14:52from these two as a pairing, but also from Lopez individually,
14:57because he can pick those passes.
14:59And I'll just finish Tormeo Lopez, if you will indulge me for a second.
15:03Of course.
15:04By giving a quick shout-out to a player that we're not going to mention,
15:09because I know the other three that are coming, in Leo Lopez.
15:11You do?
15:12Yeah, I know. Crazy.
15:14Leo Lopez, young lad who went out there.
15:15The other Lopez.
15:16Just wanted to very quickly mention him,
15:18because no one expected him to probably be out there in the first place.
15:22A player that comes from the 21s.
15:24Not many fans had heard of him.
15:25Played left wing-back.
15:26He's normally a winger, but he played a left wing-back in the games.
15:29And I thought he did very well, actually, in training
15:32and in both games against Santa Clara and Burnley.
15:35Some really good crosses looked dangerous.
15:37And in training, as I say, we saw plenty of him
15:39doing some extras afterwards as well,
15:41which is a really good sign with coaches helping him.
15:44And, you know, not to say that he'll necessarily get a chance
15:46under Pereira.
15:47That remains to be seen.
15:49But I thought it was important to mention him,
15:51because I thought he did really well.
15:53Yeah, he did.
15:54Okay.
15:55So, look.
15:56Next on the list, let's go with someone who definitely was not
16:00on the hot or not-o-meter last season.
16:05And I don't think he'll be with Wolves this season.
16:08I genuinely don't.
16:10But I thought he had a really decent Portugal,
16:13and that was Mr. Sam Johnston.
16:16Yeah, it's a really interesting talking point, isn't it?
16:19We saw in...
16:20Because he didn't play against Santa Clara,
16:21but did play against Burnley.
16:23We saw him, yeah, be pretty commanding.
16:27There was one particularly dangerous cross
16:29where he put his body on the line and came to claim it
16:31and did really well.
16:32In training, he made some excellent saves.
16:34There was one double save on the first session we went to,
16:37which was fantastic in that very close quarters,
16:40four-goal, bizarre setup that we saw.
16:42That was a bizarre setup.
16:44And then in one of the other sessions as well,
16:46we saw an excellent fingertip save from him.
16:49Look, he didn't have a good first career,
16:52first season rather, at Wolves.
16:53His Wolves career may not continue.
16:56He's probably more likely than not that he moves on,
16:58albeit the goalkeeper situation.
17:00He's not really Wolves' priority at the moment
17:01for obvious reasons.
17:03However, he's an experienced guy,
17:06England international, has been there and done it.
17:08So he shouldn't be a major surprise to us
17:10that he's gone out and done well,
17:11but it's also worth noting because it's so newsworthy.
17:14It's so interesting because Wolves fans want to know
17:17what's going on with the goalkeeper situation.
17:18That's why we have to talk about it.
17:20I was really pleased and impressed with Sam Johnston.
17:22I thought he's done really well.
17:24And it's only fair of us when we've been critical,
17:26fairly critical at the right times,
17:28to be fairly complimentary at the right times as well.
17:31And that's only the right way to look at it.
17:33Yeah.
17:34Like I said, I don't think he'll be here,
17:36but at the same time, fair play in terms of his professionalism, Liam.
17:39You know, he was really trying and working hard.
17:42And I would be a little bit, not concerned.
17:44I mean, I think we'd have written him off completely
17:45if he wasn't in that second game,
17:47not playing in that first game against Santa Clara.
17:48But the fact that he was in that second game
17:50and did pretty well, you know,
17:52I wouldn't say it's completely over his Wolves career,
17:55but it'll be interesting to see what the interest is.
17:57And look, he's still an England goalkeeper.
17:58There'll still be interest for him, from him,
18:00I assume from maybe some of your promoted Premier League clubs
18:04and potentially Championship,
18:05whether Sam Johnson wants to go back into the Championship
18:07as a number one remains to be seen.
18:09But if there was, let's say,
18:10I know he's been linked with a Sunderland
18:12or a team like that in terms of a fee,
18:16ÂŁ10 million was bought in before.
18:18I think you're going to get him at a fraction of the price,
18:19maybe ÂŁ5 million,
18:21maybe even a little bit less with add-ons.
18:23It'll be interesting next couple of weeks for Sam Johnson.
18:26And also, I think with the Stoke game coming up,
18:28as well as Lawns,
18:29whether we see him in goal or not.
18:31Yes, that'll be a really interesting game, actually,
18:33because the Lawns are probably available.
18:36You'd have thought after that eye injury.
18:38Because it's only a few days after that Stoke one.
18:40And, you know, you imagine that play,
18:41you have to make a few changes
18:42or maybe play a team that played against Stoke
18:44in the second half of that game
18:45and have to mix and match it a little bit.
18:47Yeah, as you mentioned,
18:48with Sarr, that eye injury
18:49and didn't take any further part in Portugal
18:52in any of the games,
18:54which obviously gave Johnson an opportunity
18:55against Burnley for 62 minutes as well.
18:58Oh, well, actually,
18:58the first half of it in 45 minutes
19:00he came off the Bentley.
19:02So, yeah,
19:03I still expect him probably to go.
19:06But strange things have happened.
19:07We expect Sarr to be available.
19:09But if all of a sudden
19:09there's an injury or interest
19:10and Johnson's there,
19:12you know,
19:13Pereira was very complimentary
19:14of his performances in the FA Cup.
19:16You know, you never know.
19:17Watch this space.
19:19So we're saying Manchester City at home,
19:20first game of the season,
19:21Johnston goal
19:22and Keanu Hoover on the right, yeah?
19:23I mean,
19:25if you put a bet on that now,
19:26you're going to get some good odds,
19:27aren't you?
19:27But you never know.
19:30I hope not.
19:31Right, next one.
19:32And again,
19:32someone who,
19:33like I say,
19:34was definitely on the not
19:34of the hot and not list last season.
19:37And
19:37we're going to another false dawn here.
19:41However,
19:42you can't,
19:43it's frustrating,
19:44isn't it?
19:44Because there's obviously a player there.
19:46He's,
19:46he's obviously talented,
19:48but he was smiling this trip
19:49and we haven't seen a lot of smiles
19:51from this individual.
19:51You feel like he's,
19:54I'm not saying a leader,
19:55but definitely again,
19:56we're talking about
19:57Sran Larsson,
19:58Alpha Male.
19:59It feels like he's got a bit of a voice
20:00in this training camp
20:01and whether he's here or not,
20:03I would probably lean towards
20:05that he is going to be here this season.
20:06I don't think he's going to be
20:07in the first 11 to start with,
20:09but
20:09could there be
20:11another season
20:12in a Wolves shirt
20:13for
20:14Gonzalo
20:15Getz?
20:17The redemption arc.
20:18We talk about it almost every summer now,
20:20don't we?
20:21Oh,
20:21we've been here,
20:22we've been here a few times,
20:23Liam.
20:23We've been here a few times,
20:24we have.
20:26Let's start with
20:26your old girlfriend.
20:28Well,
20:29let's start with the,
20:30the positives.
20:30Let's start with that.
20:32He looked happy.
20:34He looked,
20:35you know,
20:35he was smiling,
20:36which is something we don't often see
20:37from Gonzalo Getz,
20:38if we're brutally honest.
20:41Very much so.
20:43We were,
20:44we saw a player that looked
20:45interested
20:46be there.
20:47Again,
20:48not something we've seen a lot
20:49from this player
20:50in a Wolves shirt.
20:52I tell you what,
20:53he did an interview
20:53with the Wolves media team.
20:55Now that,
20:56it's a shock.
20:57He never,
20:57never does any media work,
20:59which is his prerogative,
20:59of course.
21:00That's not necessarily
21:01criticism.
21:01Let's be honest.
21:02He was in an ice bath.
21:04He couldn't move more than
21:05two inches either way.
21:06He couldn't run away.
21:08He wasn't in a mixed zone
21:09where he'll not even give you,
21:10give you an eye glance.
21:12It doesn't make a difference
21:13because he is happy,
21:15happy to say no
21:16very regularly.
21:18And that's not just to me.
21:19That's to anyone
21:20who asks him anything.
21:21He's happy to say no.
21:22He's not afraid
21:23to say no to people.
21:25So being able to do that
21:25and say yes
21:26and talk about being happy
21:27is a pretty telling thing.
21:31At the same time,
21:31if he's not going to be
21:32in the 11 regularly,
21:33which if he does stay,
21:34you would expect he probably
21:35is and he'll be in NL.
21:36Is he going to be happy
21:37consistently?
21:38Let's find out.
21:39So look,
21:39he's a player that has been
21:40difficult in the past.
21:41He's a player that didn't want
21:41to come to Wolves
21:42in the first place.
21:43Some of them we've covered
21:43regularly throughout
21:45his Wolves career.
21:46But we've also given him
21:47praise when he's done well.
21:48He had a couple of
21:50decent spells last season.
21:52A few poor games as well,
21:53obviously,
21:54but a few decent spells
21:55here and there
21:55when he was occasionally
21:56in the team.
21:57And he clearly has got,
21:58he's clearly a good player.
22:00If Wolves can get
22:01some of that out of him,
22:02have him as a consistent
22:04performer,
22:05as a squad player,
22:06I don't think it's a bad
22:07option to have whatsoever.
22:09And if you're going to let
22:09him go,
22:10and perhaps one or two
22:12others go as well,
22:12you need to bring
22:13some more forwards in.
22:14So it's not a terrible idea
22:16for Wolves to keep in hold
22:17of him.
22:17And if he's happy
22:18and is pleasing to Pereira,
22:19then why not?
22:21But it's important
22:22we speak about him
22:23because he did look
22:24pretty pleased
22:25and pretty happy,
22:25which is something
22:26we haven't really seen
22:26from this player.
22:27Yeah,
22:28we'll probably discuss
22:28Geddes in a bit more
22:29detail in the podcast.
22:31But in terms of
22:33backups,
22:33Liam,
22:34and we talked about,
22:35we haven't discussed
22:36Sasha Kolaidzic actually,
22:38but he scored a goal
22:38in the first game.
22:39I still think he's got
22:40a long way to go.
22:41But if you're Vito PerĂłn,
22:42let's say you're going
22:43to get another striker in,
22:43but probably more of a 10 role
22:44and you're looking for
22:45a backup number nine,
22:46I just wonder
22:47with Geddes playing
22:49in that position
22:49last season,
22:50whether he'll be seen
22:51as the backup nine
22:52to someone like
22:53a Jorgen Strand-Larsen
22:54rather than Sasha
22:57and whether they can
22:58get away with that.
22:59Personally,
23:00I've seen him as a nine.
23:01I prefer him on the right.
23:02I think he's better
23:03on the right
23:04than being a nine.
23:05But, you know,
23:05with the forward line
23:07that I guess Vito PerĂłn
23:08is trying to gather,
23:10then there'll be
23:11a lot of movement,
23:11I think,
23:12across that front line,
23:13maybe so,
23:13you know,
23:13you can drift away.
23:14There doesn't have to be
23:15an actual number nine
23:16itself if Jorgen Strand-Larsen
23:17isn't playing.
23:18There'll be quite a few
23:19false nines,
23:19I would have thought.
23:20But I think potentially
23:22he'd rather have Geddes
23:23than Kalajic
23:23if they had to pick
23:24one or the other
23:25in terms of being
23:25in the squad this season.
23:27It's difficult, really,
23:28because Gary O'Neill
23:30had Geddes as more of a nine
23:31and Quang as more of a,
23:33you know,
23:33an outside player.
23:34And then with under pro,
23:35it's been pretty much
23:36the other way around.
23:37Quang's been more
23:37of that nine option,
23:39even though it hasn't played
23:39a lot,
23:40and Geddes have been more
23:40on the wing.
23:42I agree with you.
23:43I think Geddes is probably
23:44on that right-hand side
23:45is his best position,
23:46in my opinion.
23:47Not sure about him
23:48as a nine.
23:49However,
23:49he is quicker.
23:50He is a runner.
23:51He could be someone
23:52that goes in behind
23:52and can play there
23:54if needed,
23:55albeit I wouldn't,
23:56you know,
23:56I wouldn't want that
23:56as a long-term solution
23:57if someone was to
23:58get injured or suspended.
24:00But I think,
24:01if you're asking me,
24:02is Geddes ahead of Kalajic?
24:04I think he has to be.
24:05Kalajic did okay,
24:07relatively well
24:08against Santa Clara,
24:09scored a good goal
24:09against Burnley.
24:10I didn't think
24:11he played particularly well
24:12and he's a player
24:13that has spoken publicly
24:14about this,
24:15but we've been talking
24:15about from the very beginning
24:16is very likely
24:17to go on loan.
24:18And obviously,
24:20with his injury issues
24:21at Perlman
24:21would probably be unlikely.
24:22So I suspect
24:24he'll go on loan.
24:24He'll probably go to Germany
24:26or somewhere similar
24:27and I hope he plays
24:29and stays fit
24:30because, you know,
24:30it's been a pretty
24:31terrible time for him
24:32with Geddes.
24:33Could be a really
24:33interesting summer.
24:34Last one on the list,
24:38Mr. Totti Gomez,
24:4045 minutes
24:41in the Santa Clara game.
24:43I think the first half
24:43of the game,
24:44captain as well.
24:45It was interesting
24:45to see the captain's arm
24:46and of course,
24:47Nelson Tomato
24:47will not be Wolfe anymore.
24:49Gonzalo Geddes,
24:51don't know why
24:52I said his name,
24:53but anyway,
24:54back to Nelson Tomato.
24:54Back to Nelson Tomato.
24:56I think that having his,
24:59having the armband,
25:00it was interesting
25:00obviously Matt Doherty
25:01having the armband
25:01in the second half.
25:02Both those players played
25:04together in that second game
25:06against Burnley.
25:07In fact,
25:07Totti Gomez played
25:08all 90 minutes,
25:08didn't he?
25:09And was the captain
25:11for the whole 90 minutes.
25:12Look,
25:13there's still plenty
25:14of time to go
25:15and I'm sure
25:17that Vito Pereira
25:18was still going to make
25:18a decision.
25:19We've talked about it
25:20to Vito Pereira
25:20and I think he's going
25:21to take time.
25:21I think it's going
25:21to be a late call.
25:23But in terms of
25:24Emmanuel Aguadu,
25:25in terms of
25:26JoĂŁo Gomez
25:27and probably the people
25:28who want to be
25:29the Wolves captain
25:29or who the Wolves fans
25:31want to see
25:31as Wolves captain,
25:32Totti Gomez definitely
25:33wasn't on that
25:34top of that list.
25:36I think he's probably
25:37in prime position.
25:38Not only that,
25:39as an aside,
25:39but I thought he was
25:39playing very,
25:40very well indeed as well.
25:41He's someone,
25:42one of those first names
25:42on the team sheet.
25:43He's going to be,
25:44I think,
25:44a mainstay.
25:45If he was fit this year,
25:46then he's probably
25:46a good bet to play
25:47all 38 Premier League games,
25:48I think.
25:49So you need that continuity
25:51and I think Totti Gomez
25:52has put himself
25:53in a great position
25:54going into these
25:54final four
25:56pre-season games.
25:58Yeah,
25:59as you say,
26:00Vitor's going to
26:00take his time
26:01to make the decision
26:01or at least publicly
26:02announce that decision
26:03on the new captain.
26:05But I think Totti
26:06has to be the frontrunner.
26:07You know,
26:08him and Doc
26:08sharing that responsibility
26:10against Santa Clara
26:11in either half
26:11and then Totti having it.
26:13Well,
26:13Doc's on the pitch,
26:14of course,
26:14throughout the whole
26:15of that Burnley game.
26:16Has to have him
26:17as the frontrunner.
26:18And there's lots
26:18of good reasons
26:19for that.
26:20Very good,
26:22very good on the pitch.
26:23Very athletic,
26:24quick.
26:26I think he was
26:26really impressive,
26:27actually,
26:27both of those
26:28friendly games
26:29and in training.
26:30Looks very,
26:30very sharp,
26:31looks in excellent shape.
26:32He's come back
26:33from his holiday
26:34and has looked
26:34after himself
26:35and taken it seriously.
26:37He's a great professional.
26:38Not the loudest
26:39character off the pitch,
26:40but if you've got players
26:41around that
26:42in the leadership group
26:42like your Bentley,
26:43your Tom King,
26:44players that we know
26:45are louder
26:46in the dressing room
26:47and do their part
26:47behind the scenes,
26:49then it can work.
26:50It can definitely work
26:51as a captaincy.
26:52And that has him
26:53as frontrunner
26:54at the moment
26:54and probably our pick
26:56at the moment,
26:56unless there was
26:57any major changes
26:58with players
26:58or signings
26:59that would impact that
27:00as the new captain.
27:02And throughout the whole
27:03of Portugal,
27:03I thought he was
27:04very, very impressive.
27:05I mean,
27:06we're both being picky
27:07when we mentioned this
27:08after the Burnley game,
27:09there was one mistake
27:09he made.
27:11Again,
27:12it's early doors
27:13in pre-season,
27:13very, very picky.
27:15And we pick it out
27:16really just to be
27:17objective more than anything.
27:19Otherwise,
27:21spot on.
27:22And I think he's
27:23has to be one of the
27:24first names on the team sheet.
27:26And this is why
27:26Vitor said to us
27:27and has said
27:28in other interviews
27:29that he needs
27:31potentially a left-sided
27:33centre-back
27:33or a player
27:34that can play there
27:34as well as other positions
27:35because if Totti
27:37gets injured,
27:38you'd lose the balance
27:39for this team.
27:40And he has had
27:41a couple of injury issues
27:41at times in his career,
27:43Totti, as well.
27:44So that's how important
27:45Totti Gomez is
27:45to this Wolves side
27:47and I'm really pleased
27:49because his progression
27:50over the last couple of years
27:51or so has been
27:51really quite fast.
27:53So, yeah,
27:54he's going to be
27:54a really key player
27:55next season
27:56and probably,
27:57as it stands,
27:58probably the captain.
27:59Yeah, progression
28:00over the last two years,
28:01probably the progression
28:01over the last four years.
28:02It's a nice story,
28:03I think,
28:03for people who are
28:04looking to aspire
28:05to what you can be.
28:06We've talked about
28:07Max Killman,
28:07who was obviously
28:08a very previous captain
28:09coming from futsal
28:09all the way to,
28:10you know,
28:11to stardom
28:12in the Premier League
28:13in terms of wearing
28:13the armband.
28:14Similar with Totti,
28:15really,
28:15grasshopper Zurich,
28:16not really going anywhere.
28:18Recall by Bruno Large,
28:19brought into the team,
28:20did very,
28:21very well.
28:22Then he's a first-team starter.
28:24Then Portuguese call-up as well
28:26and a Portuguese international
28:27and now potentially
28:27Wolverhampton Wanderers captain.
28:29So, again,
28:30for people in and around it
28:31saying,
28:31well,
28:32my career's not going anywhere
28:33or I can't see myself
28:34getting in.
28:35Well,
28:35there's that example
28:36for Totti Gomez
28:36and what he's achieved
28:38potentially.
28:38So, yeah,
28:39I think it'd be a nice story.
28:40I think he's in poor position
28:41and it'll be interesting
28:43to see,
28:43I guess,
28:44who leads the line
28:46or leads the team
28:47out against Stoke.
28:48I would say it'd probably
28:48be Totti Gomez again,
28:49but we shall see.
28:50There's plenty of time
28:51to impress
28:51and Vito Pereira,
28:52of course,
28:52will have his own thoughts
28:53on that situation.
28:55That's it from us.
28:56That's six players
28:57who impressed us
28:57in Portugal.
28:58That's Jorgen Strand-Larsson,
29:00Keanu Hoover,
29:01Fer Lopez,
29:02Totti Gomez,
29:03Gonzalo Guedes
29:04and Sam Johnston.
29:05Myself and Liam Keane
29:06will be doing
29:07the Wolves body this week.
29:08We'll have plenty of previews
29:09and, of course,
29:09we'll see you
29:10and the fans
29:11at Stoke City on Saturday.
29:12Take care for now.
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