One Wolves player was said to be looking ‘absolutely rapid’ in pre-season training out in Marbella.
Gary O’Neil has taken 29 players to a training camp in the south of Spain, and is currently putting them all through their paces in the blistering heat.
Wolves will spend a bit of time in Marbella, before heading to the US later this month, where the club will face fellow Premier League sides Crystal Palace and West Ham United, which will mean a reunion with Max Kilman and Julen Lopetegui, of course.
Wolves’ three new faces have all flown out to Marbella, and it is a good chance for them to get to know their new teammates and understand how the team plays.
Jorgen Strand Larsen, Rodrigo Gomes and Pedro Lima will all be hoping to hit the ground running as quickly as possible.
Yesterday, E&S journalists Nathan Judah and Liam Keen were watching training – and the pair were struck by the speed of Lima.
New Wolves signing Pedro Lima is ‘absolutely rapid’ and ‘very, very aggressive’
Lima signed for Wolves at the start of the month, after initially looking like he would go to Chelsea.
But Wanderers stole in for the teenager, with Matt Hobbs explaining recently that Wolves’ pathway was more appealing for the youngster.
Matheus Cunha also played a part in helping to convince Lima to join.
Lima is expected to challenge for a first-team place, although it may be that he gets a few minutes with the U21s to begin with.
Journalist Nathan Judah had said that Lima was ‘looking very good’ on the first day of pre-season training. He then went into a bit more detail about the Brazilian on the E&S podcast with Liam Keen.
Keen said: “Someone that probably needs a little bit of time. Not because of anything to criticise him. But because he’s young and physically he needs to fill out a bit, he’s only just turned 18.
“But he’s forward-thinking, he’s fast. Very, very aggressive with the ball. Trying to get to the front foot. He seems to suit exactly what Wolves are doing.”
Judah added: “I actually thought he looked very good. Like you say, he’s absolutely rapid. I like him a lot, I think this isn’t just someone who’s been brought in to learn his trade for 12 months. I think we may see him in the first-team sooner than what some people may think.”
Positive remarks early doors about Lima
It is great to hear some early positivity about Lima, who cost Wolves around £8.5 million from Sport Recife.
That is a sizeable chunk of money for a club like Wolves to be spending on a teenager from overseas. But Wolves did find success with Joao Gomes, and we know the club are looking to bring in unpolished gems with the intention of turning them into top players.
Granted, Lima is a fair bit younger than Gomes. But Wolves are hopeful they have landed a real prospect.
With Nelson Semedo and Matt Doherty both 30 and over, perhaps Lima can use this season to get a feel for things, before really establishing himself to potentially replace Semedo as the regular in 2025/26.